


Clint and Tony's Romantic Adventures in Shield School for the Deaf

by CaptainAmeriGay



Category: Marvel (Movies), The Avengers (2012)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Teachers, Deaf Character, Deaf Clint Barton, Getting Together, Hand Jobs, M/M, Masturbation, Slow Build
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2013-01-13
Updated: 2013-05-01
Packaged: 2017-11-25 09:42:32
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 10
Words: 32,960
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/637564
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CaptainAmeriGay/pseuds/CaptainAmeriGay
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Teacher!AU at a Deaf school. Clint and Tony begin dating, and have sweet, sexy, awkward, and ridiculous moments and everything in between as they navigate their first Deaf/hearing relationship, Clint's nosy best friend, Tony's loud and weird roommate, demanding students, and all sorts of other things. All while attempting to avoid getting noticed and subsequently lectured by a certain one-eyed principal...</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. A Dance and a Grading Party

**Author's Note:**

> The stuff in italics signifies ASL, which I wrote with English grammar so people aren't confused. My written English is only okay, so I asked a hearing friend to edit. Let me know if any mistakes remain.
> 
> Because Clint is the only Deaf Avenger, all the other Deaf teachers at the school are OCs. They are really just named so that the Avengers aren't the only ones at everything as that would be weird.

Clint groaned internally in frustration as the salesman began to talk to him, again. He pointed at his ear and shook his head, a pained expression on his face. He knew he should have just ordered the Secret Santa gift for his (rather hot and genius) coworker online, but it was hard to get a good gift and ship it while staying under the fifteen-dollar limit their school had decided on. Plus, it was hard to afford more than the fifteen-dollar limit on a teacher’s salary. He pulled out a pen and a worn notebook and flipped to an empty page--shit, he was getting near the last page, he needed a new one--and wrote: _I look for travel mug_ , then showed the note to the salesman. This store was too damn big, and he had no idea where to look.

After being taken to the right section--which was in a completely random area of the store, which Clint found stupid--he browsed through the selection of travel mugs. Tony often complained that he couldn’t easily carry coffee from the break room to his classroom, since regular mugs spilled so much, so this would be the perfect gift. He grinned when he found one that said “Oh! The places you’ll go!” with the picture from that book’s cover. It was bright, distinctive, and everyone loved Dr. Seuss. It would be perfect for his favorite caffeine lover, and the price left him with just enough money to get a couple one-pot coffee samples. He’d wrap it in newspaper and draw a card to stick on, so he was good to go. He bought the mug and headed back to his apartment; he’d get the coffee samples sometime tomorrow, when he didn’t have to chaperone some bullshit middle school dance.

That, Clint decided, was the worst part of teaching in a pre-k through twelve school like Shield School for the Deaf: they recruited any and all faculty, even elementary teachers such as himself, to chaperone middle school dances. Whatever, it paid pretty well--overtime pay, since it was on a Saturday night and they needed something to make people volunteer--and he could use the money. He was still thinking through what he would wear, since Tony was going to be a chaperone too (not that he was the reason Clint volunteered, that would be stupid, he was only doing it because he needed the money) and he sort of wanted to look good in front of him. He didn’t want to look like he was trying too hard. Principal Fury had said the teacher dress code was at least nice jeans and definitely a collared shirt for men. He could work with that. He’d fucking wow Tony with how good he could look in jeans.

Once he got back to his small apartment in the corner of the elementary-age area of one of their boys’ residential halls, he put the mug on his tiny, wobbly kitchen table before sitting on his threadbare couch and flicking on the television. The nice thing about being an elementary teacher, he reflected, was that his residential students went home on weekends; he only had to be on call once a month, and he could take shifts from the middle and high school dorm “parents” whenever he needed some extra money.

He idly flipped through the channels before giving up on finding anything worthwhile. Bored, Clint switched the television off and wandered into his bedroom. He had a few hours til he needed to be at school for the dance. Chaperones had to get there at 6:30 to set up, but it was only four. He only needed to walk five minutes to get to the gym where the dance was being held, which took all of five minutes. Factoring in twenty minutes to cook some pasta and eat, he realized that he had two hours to kill. Perfect. Time for some quality time with gay porn and his hand, and a nap.

He sat on his bed, propped on the headboard, and pulled his laptop over from where it sat on his bedside table. He opened it up and pulled up a video that he had seen before and knew to be good. As it loaded, he unbuttoned and unzipped his pants to pull them down, pulling out his cock to rub gently at it as it hardened in anticipation. Just thinking about the porn he was going to watch--and, if he were honest with himself, the idea of spending some time with Tony--was enough to get him going; after all, he was only twenty-five. By the time the video had started playing, he was nice and hard. 

He leaned over, not bothering to watch the little bit of plot at the start of the video, and grabbed his bottle of lube and his headphones from the drawer in his nightstand. He plugged the headphones in and turned the volume all the way up, pleased that he could feel the moans the actors were starting to make vibrating in his ears. He squirted a little lube on his palm and began to stroke himself leisurely, eyes glued to the screen now that one man was blowing the other.

Clint squirmed happily as he thumbed his slit, starting to breathe a little faster. He kept staring at the screen, entranced, as the men moved somehow seamlessly from a blowjob to semi-rough sex, one man riding the other with jerky, hard-looking movements of the hips. Fuck, that was what Clint liked to see. He was a big fan of riding, as it let the bottom get what he wanted. He enjoyed himself no matter what when he topped, but when he bottomed… well, he liked being in control so that he would have a good time, guaranteed.

He tightened his grip a tiny bit and sped up, jerking his hips up slightly as his balls drew up a little more. He bit his lip as he kept watching, loving how men in porn always seemed to come multiple times. He was young, he could probably do that. He wondered if Tony could--the brunette was in his early thirties, so he still could, right? Clint hadn’t really slept with older guys before to know. Whatever, that didn’t matter. What mattered at the moment was getting off, because his balls were tight and if he just… He thumbed under the head as he drew up on his stroke and found himself coming, back arching a tiny bit as he stroked himself through it. 

He lazily watched another minute of the video before closing his browser and shutting his laptop. Yawning a little, he reached over to his bedside table and grabbed a couple tissues to clean himself off with. That done, he squirmed out of his pants and pulled his boxers back up before lying back for a nap. 

A little over an hour later, Clint woke up, glancing at the clock before rolling out of bed reluctantly. He needed to get dressed and choose which cologne to wear and then eat something before walking over. He dragged himself to his closet, stopping along the way at his chest of drawers to pull out a pair of soft boxer briefs. He looked through his closet for a moment before finding what he wanted: a pair of soft blue jeans that hugged his ass (but weren’t so obscene that Fury would give him the evil eye) and a dark purple button-down shirt. The shirt emphasized his slim but muscular build while still looking sharp. Content in his selections, Clint stripped off his t-shirt and boxers before pulling on his chosen outfit.

He looked in the mirror on his closet door and grinned: he looked damned good. He popped into the bathroom to figure out his hair and decide if he wanted cologne. Would that be overkill? No, he was just doing it to make the kids feel like their dance was more legit, right? Right. This had nothing to do with Tony Stark, AP Physics teacher and genius. He chose a subtle cologne and just dabbed the tiniest bit on. Everyone there, with the exception of a few hearing teachers like Tony and Bruce, would be extra sensitive to smell due to being Deaf. He ran his hands through his hair before deciding it looked just fine, and then went out to the kitchen to scrounge up some food. 

Twenty-two minutes and a bowl of pasta later, Clint was out the door and heading down the stairs and out the door, turning right from the dorm to go to their gymnasium. He grinned a little as he remembered his middle school dances: he had been at a residential school as well, and had gone to a similar gym, which had been decked out in bright, clashing colors with the lights dimmed just slightly to make it feel more grown up… and chaperones, watching like hawks for any signs of rude or otherwise inappropriate behavior. God, he was glad he was an adult and no longer thirteen.

Despite being right on time, Clint was one of the last to arrive at the middle school gym, and he greeted Principal Fury with a wave before asking what he could do. _Get tablecloths from the storage room,_ the taller man told him. _Whatever color is fine. Put them on the tables that Bruce set up._

Clint wandered off to find the tablecloths, looking around to see who else was working that night. He spotted Tony signing animatedly with Bruce, the AP Chemistry teacher he was always hanging out with (not that Clint was jealous of Bruce or anything) and one of the other high school science teachers… Rob, maybe? He wasn’t sure. His namesign was an R tapped on the eye, so it had to be something that started with that letter. On the other side of the gym, he spotted Thor, the ancient history teacher, talking to Steve, one of the seventh grade history teachers. He was surprised, actually, by how many of the chaperones were hearing. So far, only he and something-that-starts-with-R were the only Deaf ones. He grinned. Having some hearing chaperones and some Deaf ones always worked out well. He and R-something would see any shit the kids tried to pull, and the hearing guys could listen for anything in the shadows or behind a wall.

He brought out a few brightly colored tablecloths and spread them on the table before going over to join Tony, Bruce, and R-whatever’s conversation, moving quickly to avoid Nick Fury spotting him and giving him another job. _Hi,_ he signed, tapping Bruce on the shoulder to get him to make some room in their small circle for him to join. _How are you guys?_

 _Fine,_ Tony replied, smiling at Clint. _We’re wondering how we got roped into this bullshit. Middle school dances suck, even when you’re in middle school._ He looked the elementary teacher up and down. _You look nice tonight, Clint._

 _Thanks_. Clint willed himself not to blush. Tony was just being polite, and there was no need to read anything into it. _You too._ Tony did look good, as always. He was wearing black pants and a burgundy shirt and Clint really wished he could just reach out and touch him. He turned to converse with the others before he accidentally told Tony that. _Bruce, do you know who else is working tonight?_

 _Us four, Steve, Thor, Kevin, Fury, and I think that’s it,_ Bruce answered. _We’re expecting about a hundred kids, so one chaperone per twelve or so kids. It’s probably more than we need, but this way we can commiserate.  
_

 _And secretly laugh at middle school kids slow dancing,_ Tony added with a grin. _God, I hope this doesn’t give me flashbacks to my time in middle school. I’ve been trying to forget it, and I’ve been pretty successful._

Clint laughed. _I bet it was so much worse for those of us who went to residential schools,_ he told Tony. _We couldn’t go home at night and get away from the teasing and the awkward bodies and whatever._ He turned to Bruce. _Are you on duty in the dorms tonight?_

Bruce nodded. _Yeah, I leave the dance half an hour early to check kids back into the dorm afterwards, and make sure no girls are trying to get into the boys’ dorm._ Like Clint, Bruce and R-something, as well as Natasha, Steve, and a bunch of people who weren't chaperoning the dance, worked in the dorms. They all were in high school dorms, except Steve, but had been borrowed by the middle school dorm parents to help with the post-dance craziness. Tony, the lucky bastard, lived a few minutes away in an apartment he shared with Thor.

Everyone winced sympathetically for Bruce. _Awkward middle school romance is awful,_ R-whatever told him, then waved goodbye as he went to get another job from Fury.

 _What’s his name?_ Clint asked, feeling a little bad.

 _Richard,_ Tony told him. _He teaches regular biology. He’s cool._ He looked up suddenly, probably hearing something. _Shit, sounds like some kids are here early. What’s your job, Clint?_

 _Snack table,_ the blond responded, but he smiled when Tony replied that he was supposed to be doing the same thing. _See you, Bruce!_ he signed before walking to the tables with Tony.

 _God, middle school dances_ , Tony signed to Clint about thirty minutes later, both of them half-watching as kids slow-danced awkwardly, at a full-arm’s length from each other. Everyone seemed to be at different stages of growth, with some of the girls towering over their partners. _Did you ever date in middle school?_ he asked, grinning mischievously.

 _One girl,_ Clint replied, shaking his head at the memory. _Her name was Sarah. We were boyfriend and girlfriend for three months. Then she told me I was weird and we stopped dating._

Tony laughed, clearly remembering a similar feeling. _I didn’t date in middle school,_ he explained. _I was too busy trying to build engines and shit. Girls definitely thought I was weird. So that relationship was pretty bad?_

 _It was a disaster,_ Clint elaborated. _First and last time I ever dated a girl. I realized some important things about myself after that relationship._ Oh, God, why had he told Tony that? Holy shit. His eyes opened wide, and he fumbled his hands awkwardly without signing anything, too panicked to know what to do. He hadn’t told _anyone_ at that school that he was gay. It was too risky for him, he didn’t want parents to hear about it and complain that their sons were being watched over by a homosexual because then Fury would fire him…

He blinked back into the moment, and realized that Tony had been tapping him for nearly thirty seconds, a worried look on his face. _Forget I said that?_ he signed with a pleading look on his face.

Tony rolled his eyes. _I’m not going to go tell everyone I know. I don’t care you’re gay,_ he replied. _It’s your business. You could have told me before, we could have shared funny stories about ex-boyfriends, but whatever._ He was grinning now, clearly happy that he had found another queer teacher to hang out with. 

_You’re gay?_ Clint asked, astounded and, if he were honest with himself, more than a little excited at the thought.

 _Bi,_ Tony responded casually, then glanced around. _We can discuss this more after, okay? I don’t want everyone seeing._ He gave Clint a smile and a wave before moving down the table to refill the almost empty bowl of pretzels, leaving a confused but happy fourth-grade teacher in his wake.

It was ten by the time Tony was walking out of the gym with Clint, leaving behind some of the teachers who hadn’t chaperoned to clean up. _Want to come to my place?_ Clint asked. _I have some beer and cheese and crackers. We can have our conversation there._

Tony nodded, following Clint into the dorm and up to the second floor, then down the hall to Clint’s corner apartment. _Nice,_ he commented as he looked at the open layout. There was a small kitchen, with a counter separating it from the sitting room, where Clint had a secondhand couch, a television, and a set of shelves filled with books and movies. He saw a door off to the side as well, which he assumed led to the bathroom and bedroom. _Your apartment is way less cluttered than Bruce’s. I go to his place for grading parties when Thor has his girlfriend over,_ he added in explanation.

Clint grinned. _Yeah, I like it. I can’t believe you and Thor live together. You two are so different,_ he told Tony, keeping an eye on the older man to see his reply as he got two beers out of the fridge.

 _It’s fun. He’s a little crazy, and so am I, but we get along,_ Tony replied with a shrug, accepting the cold bottle from Clint with a quick _thanks_. He laughed awkwardly after a short pause. _This is weird,_ he signed after a sip of beer. _Should I just ask you about how you’re gay?_

Laughing as well, Clint shrugged. _I guess. You’ve worked here longer than I have, so I want to ask you about being out here. I mean, are you out?_

 _Selectively,_ Tony replied, looking more serious now that they were having a real conversation about a topic he considered very important. _Thor knows, obviously, and Bruce, and Fury, but he and I have never actually talked about it. My students don’t know, because my personal life isn’t their business. I don’t want parents to know, so I’m careful with what I mention to anyone where kids can see. Are you out to anyone other than me?_

_Natasha._

_The gymnastics coach and gym teacher?_ Tony asked for clarification. Once he received a nod, he continued, _I guess that makes sense. You guys are together all the time when you aren’t working.  
_

 _I recruited her,_ Clint explained, grinning a little proudly. _I met her at an ASL social, she was telling me about her degree in education and her national medals in gymnastics and she can sign really well. I texted Fury about her, she was interviewed the next day, and now she works here._

 _This is your second year teaching here, and you already recruited something?_ Tony asked, impressed. _Shit, I’ve been here five years and haven’t done that. You’re better at this stuff than I am. Fury must only keep me around for my good looks and charm._

Clint grinned. _Definitely._ He looked at his watch before sighing. _I should do some laundry and check the kids’ rooms to make sure everything is clean for when they come back tomorrow, then go to bed,_ he told Tony with a regretful smile. He didn’t want to say goodbye, but he really needed to do some shit tonight and he felt exhausted despite the early hour. _Do you want to come over and grade stuff with me tomorrow? We can order pizza and make it a little party,_ he added, smiling at the thought. He needed to read over some of his students’ creative writing projects, and it would be more fun if someone else were around, especially if that someone were Tony. 

_Sure,_ Tony said, nodding. _I have some labs to grade. The elementary kids get back around seven, right? Let’s start grading at ten and then have some pizza for lunch. See you tomorrow!_ He gave Clint a hug before leaving.

Putting their beer bottles in the recycling bin, Clint tried to keep his mind from going into overdrive. It was a lost cause. He couldn’t stop himself from analyzing that hug over and over again. Tony worked at a Deaf school, and Deaf people hugged a lot, so maybe he had just taken to that part of Deaf culture. On the other hand, Tony was hearing and had only gotten involved with the Deaf community when he started working at Shield five years ago, so maybe a hug meant he wanted to hug Clint and be physically close to him. He rolled his eyes at his own thoughts, feeling very much like he was back in middle school. He went into his bedroom and changed into flannel pants and an old t-shirt before grabbing his keys and laundry basket. He started his laundry in the basement before heading back to his floor to inspect students’ rooms, cleaning up any mess that the six- and seven-year-olds on his half of the floor had left. 

*

At 9:55 the next morning, the light by Clint’s door began to flash, and it kept flashing, signifying that Tony, obnoxious man that he was, was leaning on his doorbell. In jeans and nothing else (not that he was trying to seduce Tony; he had gotten up late and had just gotten out of the shower), Clint answered the door, closing it behind Tony before pointing to the couch. _I’ll go get a shirt and my papers to read. Get anything you want from the fridge,_ he told Tony before ducking into his room and throwing on a Gallaudet Track and Field t-shirt from his college years. He grabbed the stack of creative writing papers from his messenger bag and headed back out to the sitting room, where Tony was already nestled in his couch, pen in hand. 

_I couldn’t fall asleep last night so I actually only have a few left,_ Tony told Clint, looking up from the lab report he was currently on as the blond man sat down. _I’m here for pizza and companionship, though!_

 _Cool_ , Clint responded, grinning at the thought that Tony came to hang out with him. _I shouldn’t take long either, fourth graders write really short things for creative writing. There’s a football game on after lunch if you want to watch?_ Clint hoped Tony would want to; he’d love to spend time with Tony, but this was a Vikings game and Clint Barton had certain priorities.

 _Sure,_ Tony responded with a grin. That settled, they each went back to grading their papers. Tony read his with a serious, concentrated look on his face, while Clint smiled and laughed at the hilarious things fourth graders wrote, both intentionally and not.

After two hours, Clint looked up to see Tony casually reading his _Mental Floss_ magazine. He waved his hand to get the other man’s attention. _Are you finished?_

 _Yes,_ Tony replied, putting the magazine down now that Clint was done too. _Want to order pizza? And then put the game on whenever it starts?_

 _Sure. Can you call? Or I guess we could order online,_ Clint added after a moment. _My computer is all the way in my room and I’m lazy. You call!_ He smiled as Tony pulled out his phone. _I like weird things on my pizza, like garlic or buffalo chicken, but I eat anything. You can pick toppings. I’m going to the bathroom.  
_

He left Tony to call the pizza place as he cut through his bedroom to his little bathroom, taking a piss and washing his hands before carefully examining his hair to make sure it hadn’t dried with anything sticking up after his shower. Certain it still looked fine, he washed his face and dried it on a hand towel before heading back to Tony. _What did you order?_

 _Buffalo chicken,_ Tony replied cheerfully. _You mentioned it, and it sounded good, so I ordered a large. If we don’t finish it, you can keep the leftovers. When does the game start?_

 _They should have just kicked off_ , Clint told Tony after a moment of thought. He turned on the television and clicked through channels to get to ESPN, then sat back down to watch what was going on. He liked watching sports, because he only needed to look down at the closed captions when there was a foul called or someone looked like they were injured.

 _Which team are you going for?_ Tony asked, looking at the score at the top to see the game was the Vikings versus the Packers.

 _Minnesota,_ Clint replied, half watching the screen and half conversing with Tony. _Iowa doesn’t have an NFL team, but Minnesota is right above us. I’m from northern Iowa, so the Vikings were the closest team. I’ve gone for them since I was a little kid._

Tony nodded to show understanding, and then they both turned their attention back to the game at hand. Twenty minutes later, Tony grabbed their pizza, and they ate it right from the box as they sat on the couch. _You spilled sauce on the couch,_ Tony said, pointing at a spot next to Clint’s thigh. _You really prove the “gay men are neat” stereotype wrong.  
_

 _I’m a bit of a slob,_ Clint agreed cheerfully, wiping the spot up with a paper towel. _I do check my hair a lot in mirrors, so I’m still kind of a stereotype._

 _Nothing wrong with that,_ Tony told him, getting up to throw the pizza box away now that they had, somehow, finished the whole. He sat back down, a little closer to Clint now, and leaned back, eyes only half open, to watch the game.

By the time the game was over, Tony was snoring quietly and Clint was maybe afraid to move. Anyway, he was comfortable and a little drowsy after eating all that pizza, so he just relaxed and let himself fall asleep as well, the television still playing the post-game analysis that he didn’t have the patience for. He leaned his head on Tony’s shoulder as he passed out, smiling at little at the smell of the older man, even in his sleep. 

When Clint woke up, he was lying down. Even weirder, someone was lying down behind him. He inhaled through his nose, recognizing the smell of Tony’s deodorant immediately. How had they managed to lie down during their mutual nap? And… were those Tony’s arms around him? He couldn’t stop himself from smiling. He liked being cuddled, and knowing it was Tony who was spooning up against him made it even better. He slowly sat up, blinking a little in surprise when Tony did too. _I didn’t know you were awake,_ he told the other man, explaining his confused look. _Sorry, I didn’t mean to cuddle up to you while I was sleeping._

 _It’s fine, it was…_ Tony paused. _It was nice. You’re warm and strong._ He blushed. That was not what he had meant to say. _Now I’m sorry. I’ll go home. I didn’t mean to make this awkward. Just because you’re gay doesn’t mean I can go around cuddling you._

Clint stared, then snapped himself out of it because Tony was getting up and he did not want that to happen. _No, I liked it too! You were comfortingly strong,_ he told Tony, not even caring how dumb he looked signing that because if Tony felt awkward because he did that to a guy who liked guys… it could be a thing, right? _Would you…_ He blushed, but made himself ask the damn question. _Would you like to go out? On a date? Sometime?  
_

Tony stared for a moment, then grinned. _Yeah. Wednesday?_ he asked, not caring that he looked (accurately) like he had been thinking about this before.

_Sure._

_Awesome. I actually do need to go,_ Tony added apologetically. _Thor wanted some help rearranging his bedroom today. And you need to be ready for the kids to come back. I’m…_ He grinned widely. _I’m excited about Wednesday. See you around!_ Before he could get nervous, he gave Clint a little peck on the lips. _Bye!_

Clint stared at the door after Tony left. That was… all rather fast. Two minutes ago he had been awkwardly pining and now they had a date for Wednesday and Tony was out the door. Whoa. He smiled to himself, though, as he went to change into more professional clothes to greet parents bringing their kids back from their weekends at home.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As you can see, not much of the stuff from the summary is here yet. That will come into play in the rest of the story. This was just starting things up! Also, I know elementary seems young for boarding school, but Deaf schools often run differently, as they tend to take kids from all over the state they are in, and they give kids a social life they wouldn't have a home around only hearing people. Finally, as you can see I can't make titles so if you have better suggestions PLEASE tell me


	2. First Date

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks to everyone who commented or left kudos on the first chapter!

By Tuesday, even the thought of his date with Tony, now only a week away, couldn’t keep Clint very cheerful. The flu was going around the dorms, so his class was a total mess. Some kids apparently didn’t know that if you felt sick, you went to the nurse’s office, not class. He wanted to lie down and cry by the time he sent them to gym class at ten; two kids had already been sent to the infirmary after throwing up in class. He sat down at his desk, which was situated in the corner of the room, and opened his laptop to check his email.

He looked up when the lights flashed on and off, and smiled a little when he saw Tony flipping the switch to get his attention. _Come in_ , he told the older man, and gestured to a chair near his desk. _Do you have a free period now? My kids are in gym._

 _I know, I checked the schedule in the elementary teachers’ lounge before coming,_ Tony told him, sitting awkwardly in the chair Clint had indicated, which had been made to seat a nine-year-old, not a thirty-two-year-old. _I wanted to ask if Vietnamese is okay for tomorrow night. I know this really great place twenty minutes away. It’s Formica tables and all the plates and utensils are plastic and the food is pretty cheap but it is amazing!_ Tony signed “amazing” with such sincere emphasis that Clint couldn’t help smiling widely.

 _I think that will be perfect,_ the blond responded earnestly. _We’ll drive over together, right? Do you want to pick me up, since you know where we’re going?_

 _Sure,_ Tony replied, nodding. _I’ll grab you around five-thirty? I know it’s early, but I know you need to get back for evening dorm duty._

 _By seven-thirty,_ Clint clarified. _But you can come back to my apartment to talk or have some cookies, if you feel like it. We’ll see after dinner._ He wasn’t sure what sort of after-date activity Tony wanted or planned on. Like everyone else at Shield, he had heard the rumors that Anthony Edward Stark slept around like nobody’s business, but he wasn’t sure that was true. He had also heard that Natasha was a lesbian, and he knew for certain that was false. Clearly, the Shield rumor mill was not consistently accurate.

 _I need to go back to the high school building,_ Tony signed apologetically. _My next class starts soon, and I should let you do your work. I’ll be outside your building at five-thirty tomorrow night. Don’t dress up, because the place is casual. Bye!_ He waved, and left. Clint was starting to notice a pattern in Tony’s exits. They were always sudden and at the tail end of telling him a jumble of thoughts.

Reluctantly, he went back to work, replying to emails from parents who had heard from the nurse that their kids were sick and sending a quick email to a parent--CC’d to Phil Coulson, principal of the elementary school, and Nick Fury, principal of all of Shield--whose child had thrown a massive tantrum in the dorm last night, breaking a few of his own things and punching Clint (in the balls, but they didn’t need to know that horrifying, painful detail). With that finished, he moved on and worked on lesson planning for their upcoming unit on agriculture. He was still smiling happily about his plans for the following night when the kids came back, escorted by a teaching assistant, and his life descended into chaos once more.

*

Wednesday at five found Clint standing by his closet, staring at his clothes with a helpless expression. Natasha sat on the bed, smirking, clearly amused at her friend’s difficulties. _Clint, you’re hot,_ she told him after stomping to get his attention. _Wear whatever. Tony told you not to dress up._ She got up, rolling her eyes in exasperation, and pulled out a pair of light blue jeans, soft to the touch, and a grey flannel. _Wear these, and roll up the sleeves so he sees your forearms. They’re nice._ Her smirk grew wider as she turned to his drawers, where he kept underwear, socks, t-shirts, shorts, and other things that didn’t need to be hung up. _Are you wearing clean underwear? More important, are you planning to let him see your underwear?_

It was Clint’s turn to roll his eyes as he, with his usual lack of boundaries and modesty, began to pull off his current clothes to put on the outfit Nat chose for him. _I don’t plan for him to see it, but I have no idea how today will go. I don’t have sex on the first date anymore, because I’m pretending that I’m a real adult now, but that doesn’t exclude other things. I’ll see how he feels. Good thing I’m already in clean underwear._ He finished dressing and picked a belt up off the top of his chest of drawers, threading it through the loops and buckling it. _Do I look fine?_

 _Of course,_ Natasha replied, smiling just slightly. _Stop being really nervous. Your hair looks great, your outfit is perfect, and you smell nice. Calm down. Let’s just hang out until you have to go, okay?_ She practically dragged him to the couch and distracted him with discussions of how her gymnastics team was doing and arguing over which underling Principal Fury liked more: Clint was sure it was Coulson, but Natasha claimed that he liked Maria Hill, the vice principal of the entire school. Joking around with Natasha was fun and easy, and before Clint knew it they were leaving his apartment, Natasha to go back to her own apartment, and Clint to go meet Tony in the parking lot behind the dorm.

He immediately saw Tony, sitting in a bright red car. Fitting, he decided, for someone as loud and all over the place as the scientist. He got in the car with Tony and, giddily, leaned over to give him a little kiss. _I’m excited,_ he announced as he settled back into his seat and put on his safety belt. _There will be good food, and you’re cute, and I’m not working for a few hours._ He was nearly bouncing with how happy he was about everything.

Driving with a Deaf person was one thing that Tony was still struggling with, even in his fifth year spending most of his time in the Deaf community. _Can we wait to converse when we get there?_ he asked Clint with an apologetic expression as he stopped before turning onto the main road. _I’m not good at watching someone sign while I drive, or signing while I drive._

 _Of course,_ Clint replied, not minding in the slightest. _I like being safe._ He leaned back in his seat and contented himself with watching Tony as the older man drove. He loved how he could openly look at him now, as opposed to sneaking glances; Tony was simply entertaining to watch. Even with his terrible, out of practice lip reading, Clint could tell some of the bad words Tony muttered at stoplights. He nearly jumped out of the car when they arrived at the strip mall the restaurant was in. Instead, he calmly got out of the car and waited a second for Tony to join him and point out the place they were headed.

 _I’ve never had Vietnamese food before,_ Clint admitted. _You’ll have to tell me what I should eat, okay?_ He smiled at Tony when they sat down, and didn’t really look at his menu. _You cultured. Can you tell me which dish is good?_

Tony nodded, pointing out two dishes on the menu: pho and grilled beef on rice vermicelli. _Those two are both good,_ he explained. _If I get the grilled beef, you can get the pho, and we can share so you can try both. Pho is the most famous Vietnamese dish, but I like the grilled beef dish much too._ He flipped over the menu and pointed out a couple of the beers. _I think those two would go well with our food, but any beer or soda would work._

 _Thanks,_ Clint replied, smiling at the idea of sharing their food like some sort of adorable couple from a movie. _I will get the pho, you get the beef, and I can try one of those beers._

A waiter approached the table and began to speak. Clint looked at Tony with a hopeful and awkward smile, feeling bad that he was asking the older man to interpret for him on their first date. Was that bad manners? He had no idea. All of his previous boyfriends (and even that one middle school girlfriend) had been Deaf. He didn’t know when it was appropriate to ask a hearing date to interpret. He had no problem asking hearing friends, but dates were supposed to be different.

 _He asked if we’re ready to order,_ Tony explained. _Now he asked if you’re Deaf._ Clint watch Tony nod and say a word (he assumed it was “yes”) to the waiter. Tony ordered his meal, and then his expression changed to annoyance. _He wants me to order for you. I’m telling him to ask you what you want._

When the waiter turned to Clint, the teacher pointed at his choices on the menu--pho and one of the beers Tony had suggested--before handing the menu to the young man. The boy turned to Tony, who started looking even more pissed. _He asked me if you’re allowed to have beer_ , he told Clint, his expression showing he was sorry to have to relate the assholery of this waiter.

Clint pulled out his ID and pointed to the birthdate before doing something he hated and hadn’t done in months--he spoke. “I twenty-five.” He knew, from what Natasha had told him in her usual frank way, that his voice was squeaky and hard for most people to understand, but he didn’t have a notebook and pen so he had to make do. “Not child,” he added, trying to make everything perfectly clear. The waiter gave him a pitying, condescending look, obviously convinced that Clint had an intellectual disability of some sort. He then, thank God, left.

 _I am really sorry,_ Tony told him immediately, still looking angry, but now remorseful as well. _I’ve only been here with hearing people, and I didn’t know how badly they would treat Deaf people._

 _It’s okay,_ Clint reassured his date with a somewhat successful attempt at a smile. _It’s not your fault. It’s usually only one person or two, not the whole place. I will go ask for another waiter. I will be back in one minute._ He patted Tony’s hands, which were twisting fretfully on the table, and then walked up to the front of the restaurant to converse with the woman in charge of seating. He started by gesturing for a pen and paper, which she provided. He was glad; he felt that he had already spoken enough tonight to last him a year.

 _We can have different waiter? He rude because I Deaf,_ Clint wrote, then showed it to the woman. She looked unhappy at the news of the bad waiter, and took the pen to write back: _Of course, sir. I’m so sorry he was rude. I’ll ask the manager to speak with him. Sit back down and I’ll find someone else._

Triumphantly, Clint went back to the table. _I fixed it,_ he informed Tony, placing his hands on the older man’s. _We’ll have a new waiter, and the manager will talk to the bad one._

 _You would think they would be used to Deaf customers,_ Tony mused, turning his hands up to play with Clint’s. _Shield has hundreds of students, and some of the high school kids go off campus on weekends for meals, plus about half the faculty is Deaf. Whatever. That’s done. Let’s talk and have a first date. What… what do you like to do, outside of school and Vikings football?_

Clint smiled, happy not to dwell on douchey waiters. _I like to run. I was on the track team in college. I like to read and watch documentaries about medieval weaponry, because I am a highly specific type of nerd. Natasha and I watch James Bond movies once a month. What about you?_

 _I build robots in my spare time,_ Tony told him with a big smile. _No, really, I do. I’m currently designing one to do all sorts of things, like pick things up and respond to verbal commands. He is not helpful yet. I call him Dummy, because he messes everything up, but I love him._ He thought for a moment, trying to figure out what else to tell Clint about himself. _I help Bruce with any chemistry experiments he wants to work on, because I honestly love science. My dad was a scientist,_ he explained, _but never let me do much with him, so I got really into it in school._ He shrugged. His dad had meant well, just hadn’t been a good parent. _You grew up in Iowa, right? And went to a Deaf school? When did you start living at the school?_

 _Six,_ Clint responded, after thinking for a second. _My parents died when I was four, and the orphanage didn’t know what to do with a Deaf kid. It was a small town, and I was a little developmentally set back when I got to school because I hadn’t really had any communication in a couple years. I had to go back to the orphanage for summers, but I usually had a friend who would take me home for shorter breaks._ He smiled, hoping he wasn’t making Tony feel uncomfortable with his rather unhappy early childhood. _That’s how I started liking weapons. One of my friends’ dads had a big book on medieval war and weapons that he let me look through, and then I started looking in the library and now I’m the weird guy who tried to build a crossbow._ He winced at the memory. _It didn’t really work. I still have a scar._

Tony laughed, clearly starting to feel more comfortable. _Where is this scar?_ he asked, then wiggled his eyebrows suggestively. _Will I see it?_

 _It’s on my side,_ Clint told him. _You can see it whenever you want, I guess._ He blushed a little just at the thought of getting shirtless in front of Tony. Not wearing a shirt wasn’t what made him blush, of course; the color in his cheeks came from the thought of what could drive him to take his shirt off. A smiling waitress giving them their beers and setting down big bowls of food saved him from embarrassment.

*

An hour later, Clint was letting Tony into his apartment. _My dorm duty starts in twenty minutes, so we’ll need to open the door at that time,_ he told Tony, taking a few steps to get to one of his kitchen cabinets and pulling out a box of chocolate chip cookies. _I’m sorry if you wanted to do something with it shut,_ he added awkwardly, not sure how to bring up the question of what Tony expected on a first date.

 _No,_ Tony responded immediately. _I want to kiss you, but we can do that before the door opens. I don’t have sex on the first date._

 _Good!_ Clint replied, and then winced at his phrasing. _I meant that’s good because I don’t either. It’s not that I don’t want to have sex with you. I do. Eventually. Whenever we both want to._ He stopped himself from continuing before he signed anything else stupid. _You mentioned kissing? I like kissing._

Tony smiled widely. Clint was really cute when he was flustered. _Same._ He stepped in close to the younger man and wrapped his arms around his waist before pressing their lips together. He shut his eyes and let himself sink into the feeling of kissing Clint, letting the younger man direct the intensity. He tightened his grip on Clint’s waist in happiness and excitement when he felt his lips being prodded gently with a tongue.

Clint was similarly pleased with the kiss. His hands had found their way into Tony’s soft hair and were running through it gently. He explored the older man’s mouth shyly, not wanting to seem overeager but also worried that he wouldn’t seem interested enough. Leaning a little more into Tony, he brought his fingers down to the nape of the brunette’s neck, playing with the bottom of his hair as he let his arms rest around his neck. Tony, he realized belatedly, was a fantastic kisser. He was letting Clint lead the kiss, sure, but he was responding with a lot of confidence. Was that because Tony was older? If that was the case, Clint regretted not having dated older guys before.

He hated to stop kissing Tony, but he pulled away. _I should open my door up,_ he told him apologetically. _I’m about to go on duty. I have to help kids get ready for bed soon. Can I take you out on Friday?_

Tony nodded, still smiling over how great that kiss was. _I would like that. Do you have a free period tomorrow when your kids are in gym or music or something?_

 _Yeah, they have gym from ten to ten-fifty on Tuesdays and Thursdays,_ Clint told him. _Are you going to come see me again? I would like that. And I’ll see you at the Secret Santa party after classes tomorrow._

Grinning, Tony nodded once more. _I should go home. Thor was planning to cook dinner for his girlfriend, and I’m worried he burned the whole apartment complex down. Bye!_ He gave Clint a soft, smiling kiss before leaving, not closing the door behind him so that Clint could start his dorm duty.

After a few seconds, the blond realized he was still standing in the position he was in when Tony had left. Oh, God, he was worse than a love-struck teenager.


	3. Tony Comes Over

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Clint gets bored and texts Tony. Things escalate from there.

Clint was unsurprised to find Natasha sitting on his couch, watching television, when he got back to his apartment after the Secret Santa exchange and reveal on Thursday. _Don’t you have a team to coach?_ he asked, regretting, not for the first time, having given Nat his spare key at the start of the year.

 _Practice doesn’t start for half an hour,_ she replied, picking up the remote and turning off the television. _Tony seemed really happy about that mug._ She smirked. _More happy than he would have been if I or someone gave it to him. Give me all sorts of details of your date. If you don’t, I’ll beat it out of you._ She gave him a terrifying smile, one that always made him feel like she really would beat him up.

 _We went to dinner,_ Clint began, deciding right away that it was best to just tell Natasha everything. She never gossiped about what people told her, only about what she had found out through other means. _We went to the Vietnamese place downtown. The first waiter we had was awful. He asked Tony if I was allowed to have beer! We got a different one after. Tony let me stand up for myself. That was nice. Sometimes hearing people jump in and it feels like they think I’m a child. They mean well…_ He realized he was getting off topic. _Whatever. We came back and kissed for a bit, but that’s it._

Natasha looked surprised. Well, she looked surprised for Natasha, which meant she had one eyebrow slightly quirked. _Tony didn’t want to fuck on the first date?_

 _No. I had duty coming up, and he told me he doesn’t sleep on the first date. We have another date tomorrow, and I think I will ask him if we can talk about sex. I want to know what he expects or wants._ Clint shrugged. _You know me. I’m fine with anything. I like sex, but I’m okay if I just hang out with my own hand until my boyfriend is ready._

Natasha rolled her eyes. _Yes, I know, do not keep telling me about it or I will leave,_ she threatened. _Where are you going for your date tomorrow?_

Clint shrugged. _Do you have ideas? I am taking him this time, since he took me yesterday. I want to do something fun, but I am not sure. Is it too early for me to bring him here and cook for him so that I don’t have to figure this out?_

 _I don’t know,_ Natasha told him. _You know I don’t date much. I just sleep around for fun. What about take-out in the park? You will not have bad waiters that way, and you can take a blanket and make it a picnic. Picnics are romantic,_ she informed him, smirking once more. _You could have a sex talk and then kiss on your blanket like the obnoxiously cute couple I think you are._ Her eyes lit up as she thought of something. _You guys should have dinner with me and maybe his roommate! Or Bruce, because they are best friends. It would be fun, for me at least. I want to see you be cute and happy._ Clint hadn’t dated anyone since they became friends, so she wanted to see how he functioned in a relationship, both out of curiosity and so she could give him advice if he acted too weird.

 _You told me it’s too early to cook him dinner here,_ Clint pointed out, giving her a quizzical look. He wasn’t sure about these supposed dating rules, so he turned to Natasha as an expert. _If it’s too early to cook dinner for him, I think it’s too early for him to meet my crazy, maybe violent best friend. Please, don’t scare him away,_ he added, suddenly terrified at the thought of Nat approaching Tony and saying… something weird to him. If she said one of her threats, he could see Tony breaking up with him in a few seconds.

Natasha shrugged. _Fine, I’ll wait a little bit to meet him_ , she responded. _I need to go change and get to the gym to practice._ She gave him a little kiss on the cheek before heading out of his apartment, closing the door behind herself. Bored, Clint checked his watch. It was still an hour til the dining hall opened, and he didn’t know what to do until then. He had finished lesson plans for the next week while his students had been in gym, since Tony had gotten tied up in a meeting of AP teachers about how to best prepare their students for the written part of their exams, as Deaf people often struggled with grammar. He pulled out his phone and scrolled through his contacts to find Tony’s number.

Smiling faintly, he opened a new text message and typed out: _You do what now?_ He put his phone on his lap and looked around his apartment aimlessly, trying to decide what to do while he waited. He had just decided to pick out a book to read when he felt his phone buzz against his thigh. Excited, he picked it up, doing a little dance inside when he saw it was Tony.

He opened the message. _Watching TV with my roommate, drinking coffee out of my super-awesome new mug. What about you? Any particular reason you’re texting me?_

Clint chewed at his lip, trying to decide on what to say before he started typing. _I lie on couch. Bored. You want take-out picnic tomorrow? For date?_ He thought for a moment before he typed the rest of it. _And we need talk. Not bad! I want know expect what? Kissing after?_

He maybe regretted the message right after he hit the send button. Why had he asked that? Now Tony would think he was weird and not want to go out the following night. He stood up and paced around a little, heading into his bedroom and sitting on his bed and bounce up and down nervously. His heart thudded as he felt his phone vibrating next to him. He opened the message, scared of what he would see.

 _Picnic sounds good!_ Okay, that was a good start. Tony wouldn’t start a break-up message like that. _Pick me up around 6? If you have duty we can start at 530. Do you want to have a sex talk over text? Or we could do it tomorrow. Or I can come over. I’m not overbearing, right?_

Clint smiled. That had gone a lot better than he had expected. _Can come here. We can have talk…_ He tried to think of how to put innuendo into a text. He was great at ASL innuendo, but not so much English. _After talk, can try things?_ He ended it with a winky-face emoticon and hit send. Hopefully that didn’t seem too presumptuous. Was it rude to imply they would do sex things? He tended to sleep around more than date like this, so how was he supposed to know?

His phone buzzed once more. _I’ll be there in fifteen minutes._ Clint opened his eyes wide, suddenly stressed. He needed to change into more casual, comfortable clothes, and make sure his hair was okay and maybe put on more deodorant. He stood up and yanked off all of his clothes and throwing them in his laundry hamper. He pulled out some soft briefs and put them on before finding a pair of jeans, and then grabbed a soft t-shirt. In the bathroom, he ran his hand through his hair and rolled on some more deodorant.

Deeming himself presentable, Clint walked barefoot into his sitting room and waited on his couch excitedly. The talk would be awkward, he was sure, but he was looking forward to some more kissing and whatever else Tony wanted after they spoke. He nearly fell off the couch when the doorbell flashed, and he made himself stand still for a second to breathe and calm down before walking over to the door and opening it. _Hi,_ he signed, grinning as Tony walked in the door. He shut the door behind him before resuming conversation. _Thanks for coming. I didn’t mean to drag you over here for the talk, I just wanted to talk to you, and then I started thinking about sex so I asked._

 _It’s fine,_ Tony told him, smiling as he gave him a little kiss. _We need to do it, and this way I get to see you today. Sorry I couldn’t come during your free period. We had to meet about AP stuff. We’re worried that students will have trouble with the essays, because it’s English, not ASL. Whatever. This isn’t what I’m here to talk about._ He gave Clint a little grin and wrapped an arm around his waist, signing the next bit one handed: _Want to sit on the couch and discuss sex?_

Clint nodded, dragging Tony to the couch with him. _Sex. I think we should discuss when we want to do things, of course. I mean how soon you feel comfortable having sex, and if that’s later, what else we can do? And what we like. Sorry, this isn’t sexy or romantic,_ he added, realizing how clinical he sounded.

 _I want to wait some to have sex,_ Tony announced, clearly not feeling shame. _I sleep around when single, but I try to be slow in relationships. Until then, I think we should let things progress naturally.  You know, we kiss some, and then I feel like I need to put my hands in your pants, eventually you want to put my penis in your mouth._ He smiled widely.

Nodding, Clint smiled back. _I am happy with any sexual contact._ He leaned forward to put a hand on Tony’s thigh. _Do you like anything special I should know? Kinks? Or even preferences?_ He shrugged. _I like everything and anything._ He wasn’t trying too hard with that statement; he really did enjoy anything sexual. Naked or clothed, fast or slow, rough or gentle… Clint had tried almost everything and liked it all.

Tony thought for a moment. _Same. I’ve never dated a Deaf person, but will sex be different?_

 _Maybe,_ Clint replied. _I’ve never dated a hearing person._ He tried to imagine what might be different in sex with a hearing person. _You just have to remember to open your eyes if I tap you, so I can sign if I need. You should think much about body language because that’s easier than signing. Tap me if you need anything._ He grinned, suddenly feeling really confident. _Do you want to try that now? We should make sure you understand those rules._

Tony smiled as well. _I think that’s a good idea,_ he answered. _Remember, I don’t expect anything. Do what you want._ He scooted closer to Clint, still smiling happily as he went in for a little kiss. He wrapped his arm around the younger man’s waist, sliding one hand up under Clint’s shirt to feel the warm skin of his lower back. He loved how soft his skin was, and the firm muscles under it.

Clint slowly licked at Tony’s lips, prying them open so he could kiss the older man more deeply. He slid forward so that he was almost in Tony’s lap, reaching one hand up to thread it through his hair. Okay, he had forgotten how good a kisser Tony was in less than twenty-four hours. He squirmed a bit when he felt the brunette’s mouth vibrating against his own. Was Tony moaning? Oh, that was hot. He decided to groan back, hoping it sounded sexy. Judging by the way the scientist moaned even more and pulled Clint all the way into his lap, it had been sufficiently sexy.

Clint pulled away from Tony in a gasp as the older man pressed his hips up, letting Clint feel his erection through the layers of their jeans. Leaning in to suck and nip at Tony’s neck, he let himself grind back down on him. He tapped Tony, taking his mouth from his neck so he could tilt back a little. _Is this okay?_ He pressed his ass down and circled a little to keep Tony interested during this lull.

Tony nodded breathlessly. _Really good,_ he told him with urgent hand movements. _I haven’t had sexual activity with someone else in a while. I maybe not last a long time?_ He raised his eyebrows like it was a question, biting his lip as if he wasn’t sure it was okay.

 _Fine,_ Clint told him, then pulled Tony closer to him by the shoulders and kept grinding on him, going a little faster and harder as he got more turned on himself. He shuddered a little as he felt Tony gasping against his lips. He loved knowing how aroused Tony was, and knowing that he was the one causing that arousal. He let himself break the kiss and just breathe roughly into Tony’s mouth, not caring that his breathing probably sounded loud and weird. He rolled his hips so that every thrust rubbed his boyfriend’s dick in his ass and then pressed his own onto Tony’s firm, muscular stomach.

He tapped Tony once more. _I will release soon,_ he signed urgently, thrusting up. He usually didn’t sign this much while getting off, but he felt that Tony might be used to more explicit communication, since he had only dated hearing people before. He bit his lip and held Tony’s shoulders tightly as he jerked his hips forward then down twice, three times… and then came hard, feeling himself grunt, probably loudly, as he did so.

Coming down from the high, he opened his eyes again so he could watch Tony. The older man was thrusting up against him, moving his lips in probably unconscious words. Clint tried to read his lips, but he sucked at it and he was all post-orgasm lazy. Leaning in, Clint began to kiss Tony’s neck happily, rolling his hips as well as he tried to drag the brunette to orgasm. He traced his fingers over Tony’s chest through his shirt, then gasped as he felt Tony stiffen and then suddenly he could feel some wetness seeping through Tony’s jeans to his.

He leaned back to look at the other man, rubbing his thumb over Tony’s chin until he opened his eyes to look at him. _That was nice,_ he signed tiredly. _You feel good. I’m glad I asked you to come discuss sex._

Tony grinned lazily as well. _Yeah. I’m happy too. But I wish I thought to bring more pants._ He laughed a little, then leaned forward to kiss Clint’s nose. _What are you doing for dinner?_

 _Dining hall,_ Clint responded, kissing Tony’s chin in return. _Some of the staff has to eat there at every meal to supervise the kids. You can eat with me, if you want. It won’t be sneaky, but I think students won’t care. I planned to eat with Natasha and Phil Coulson. Do you want to eat with us?_ Well, there went his “don’t introduce him to my crazy friends yet” plan.

Tony nodded, smiling. _I need pants,_ he reminded the younger man. _Should I go home and then come back?_ That seemed silly to him, but he wasn’t just going to ask to borrow Clint’s pants. They had been going out for less than a week! This wouldn’t be weird if they weren’t date, but then he wouldn’t have these messy pants if they weren’t dating so it was a moot point.

 _You can borrow sweatpants,_ Clint offered. _Teacher dress code doesn’t apply after school hours. If everything is covered, people don’t care. My jeans won’t fit, but my sweatpants will._

 _Okay. Can I change now?_ Tony didn’t mean to be so abrupt, but he didn’t want his come to dry in his pants. He got up when Clint did and followed him into his bedroom, taking the time to look around. The younger man had a nice, neatly-made bed, a short chest of drawers, and a bedside table. The table and the top of the chest of drawers were both covered in various books, papers, pens, and God knows what else. He accepted a pair of green sweatpants from Clint; like the sweatshirt he had seen the younger man in before, they were from his time on the Gallaudet track and field team. _Thank you. Bathroom?_

Clint pointed him to the door to the bathroom, and told him he would wait for him in the sitting room after he changed his own pants. While Tony was occupied, he stripped off his jeans and boxers and replaced them with clean, nearly identical ones. He stepped back into the sitting room and sprawled out on the couch, maybe happy to sit there, knowing what they had done there less than an hour before. He smiled when Tony’s face suddenly appeared above him. _Do you want to walk to dinner now?_ He stood up, gave Tony a little kiss, and led him toward the door, already praying that Natasha wouldn’t scare the older man away.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I really want ideas to change the title, maybe! If anyone has some, I would be very thankful. Hope you are enjoying the story so far.


	4. Meeting Friends

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry I took a long time to update. Work became crazy! I hope I will update faster this time, but I am very busy.

Clint plopped down in the chair next to Natasha, smiling when her eyes went the tiniest bit wider at the sight of Tony sitting next to him. _Hi Tony,_ she signed, then turned to Clint. _Those are your sweatpants,_ she told him, face only mildly accusing. _Unless Tony ran track for Gallaudet, which would be weird in a lot of ways._

Grinning sheepishly, Clint shrugged. _We shouldn’t talk about this in front of Phil. He’s maybe my boss._ He stopped that conversation in its tracks, changing the subject. _You guys know Tony. AP Physics, friends with Bruce, makes robots for fun…_

Coulson nodded, waving a hello to Tony. _I know him, but I’m curious why he’s wearing your pants,_ he told Clint with a wry smile. _I’m curious as your friend, not as your boss. I don’t want details,_ he added quickly, knowing Clint’s tendency to over-share to make him blush for fun. He turned to Tony. _You’re dating Clint, right?_

Tony looked like a deer in the headlights, but he nodded after a glance at Clint to make sure Coulson wasn’t trying to trick him or something.

 _Good,_ Phil replied with a hint of an approving smile. _He looks happy, so I think I like you._ Phillip Coulson tended to tell people what he thought. He looked back at Clint. _I don’t mean to change the subject, but have you finished preparing for parent and teacher conferences? You start on Monday afternoon. Parents will want to know what you are doing because it is second semester._

Clint nodded, but he didn’t look happy about it. _I’m ready. I know which parents I need to talk to about their kids having trouble and I know who will ask most questions._ He turned to Nat. _How was practice?_

 _Good. You introduced your boyfriend, so you can go get food,_ she pointed out, smiling when Clint started. He had obviously forgotten about food due either to showing Tony off or the older man’s very presence. Her friend was clearly smitten.

Clint stood up and waited for Tony to do the same before heading to the food line. They didn’t converse as they got their food, since their hands were full holding plates and serving themselves, but on the way back to the table, Clint was relieved to learn that Tony liked his friends (or at least claimed he did).

Phil and Natasha were in a deep discussion about self-defense moves when they returned. Clint wondered, not for the first time, how he had become friends with such weird people. He began to eat, watching their conversation some but not paying attention much. Eventually, he tapped Tony on the shoulder. _These are my friends. What are your friends like?_

Tony grinned. _You know Bruce, he doesn’t converse much but he’s genius. My roommate Thor is loud. He’s from Finland, and his English sounds really formal and he yells half the time. He teaches ancient history in high school. Have you met him?_

Clint shook his head.

 _His girlfriend is a physicist. I like her,_ Tony continued, pushing his plate away when he finished so he would have more room to sign expressively. _My best friend doesn’t work here. He is in the military, and his name is Rhodey. I also spend time with my teacher assistant, Pepper. She grew up with a Deaf friend, so she’s fluent in ASL. She’s my TA while she’s getting her Master’s in business,_ he explained. _Why don’t you have a teacher assistant?_ He had been wondering that since popping into Clint’s classroom to say hello.

 _We have smaller classes in the elementary school,_ Clint told him. _Many parents don’t want to send their kids to boarding school really young, and we have three classes of fourth grade, so small._

 _I understand,_ Tony said, nodding. _I know you told me you were Deaf when you went to the orphanage when you were four and Deaf school when you were six. When did you become Deaf?_ He opened his eyes wide. _Sorry! Is that a rude question?_

Clint smiled and shook his head. _It’s not rude. I went Deaf when I was two. I was sick from mumps. There was a small outbreak, and I didn’t have the vaccine. It’s really rare to go Deaf in both ears from mumps, so I am really special,_ he told Tony, smiling teasing. _I am very Deaf,_ he added. _110 decibels is the most quiet I can hear._

 _Interesting,_ Tony said honestly. He was a scientist, and he couldn’t help but be interested in illnesses. _I didn’t know you hear so little. Most of the other Deaf teachers who I discussed this with can hear 70 decibels._

Clint shrugged. _I don’t wear hearing aids because I’m so Deaf. The orphanage couldn’t afford them when I was a kid, and I tried them when I was an adult and none of the ones they let me try were strong enough. They hurt, too. And I don’t think I want to hear. It looks stressful._ He smiled at Tony happily. _Finished?_ he added, realizing that they were both done.

Tony nodded. _I think I should go home. I have tests to grade,_ he explained. _Will you walk me to my car?_

 _Of course,_ Clint replied, happy to know that Tony wanted him to do cute things like that. _See you later, Phil, Natasha._ He and Tony took their plates over to the kitchen window to be washed, and then walked out of the dining hall next to each other but with a little distance between them. Once behind the buildings, heading toward the parking lot, however, Clint bumped shoulders with his boyfriend happily. _Picnic tomorrow?_ he asked, just making sure they were still on for that. _The elementary kids leave Friday afternoon and I’m not taking someone’s shift, so I don’t have duty. I’ll pick you up at six and then I’ll go to your apartment with you. If that’s okay,_ he added hastily. _I just want to get out of the dorm in my time off._

 _It’s definitely fine,_ Tony assured him. _You can meet Thor and Jane, and we can watch a movie. It will be nice._ He glanced around to make sure nobody was there to see them, then leaned over and gave Clint a little kiss. _I will see you at six tomorrow, okay?_ He gave Clint a little wave as he got into his car.

 _Tomorrow. Bye!_ Clint grinned and watched Tony leave the parking lot before heading back to his dorm. Kids would be coming back from dinner soon, and he would need to help them get ready for bed.

He walked back to his apartment, smiling widely. Tony was great. He was smart, funny, and honest with his questions. He had expected it to be weirder to date a hearing guy. He thought there would have been misunderstanding or patronizing attempts to “help” by now. It might be good because Tony taught at Shield. Clint knew hearing teachers had a different orientation than Deaf teachers, and he thought some of “how not to be a douche” was probably discussed, under a nicer name.

He showered once he returned to his room. He had to help the young kids in his hall get ready for bed, so he wanted to be sure there was no residual semen smell on him. After he got out and dried, he got dressed with underwear, flannel pants, and one of his old t-shirts. He still had some time before the kids would come back from dinner and need supervision brushing their teeth and getting ready, so he sat on his bed and pulled his laptop into his lap. He opened a couple files on specific kids he had made for their parent-and-teacher conferences; Anna’s parents would come on Monday during lunch, and Kevin’s on Monday afternoon. He read again what he had written, both parts: academic and behavioral. He added some sentences to Anna’s report, and then it was time to go help his kids brush their teeth.

*

 The next evening, Clint pulled into the parking lot at Tony’s apartment building in his old, beat-up car at two minutes til six. He grinned as he saw Tony leaning against the building, waiting for him. The older man sat in the passenger seat, leaned over, and gave Clint a kiss. _How was your day?_ he asked as they turned onto the main road.

 _Okay,_ Clint responded. _Kids didn’t pay attention because it’s Friday. How are you?_

 _Same,_ Tony replied cheerfully, trying to look some at the road and some at Clint. Fury had explained during his orientation that driving when driving with a Deaf person everyone helped look at the road while everyone signed. He had been a little scared of the idea at first, but he driven around enough with other teachers to get used to it, at least from the passenger seat. _My students didn’t do any work today because they were ready for the weekend. Some of them will go to a dance at Grant tomorrow._ Grant was another Deaf residential school, about two hours away. When they had a high school dance, they often invited Shield students. A couple teachers would chaperone and drive a bus or two up, and they would get back in the early morning.

 _I took the kids to a dance there once,_ Clint told Tony, smiling. _Teachers get much money when they drive and work for one. We returned to school at one in the morning. I think I was more tired than the kids._ _I don’t take them to dances now._

Tony laughed. _You act really old,_ he teased. _You go to your apartment at one in the morning and it’s too late. Do you need to get home before midnight, Cinderella?_

 _No,_ Clint responded cheerfully. _My students are gone, so I don’t have anything to do until ten tomorrow morning. I’m on duty, watching the high school students sign the sheet if they walk downtown, and giving them detention if they don’t come back within two hours._

They didn’t sign the rest of the way, content to be near each other while Clint navigated the traffic downtown until he pulled into the parking lot at the Thai place. They got out and walked into the restaurant, glancing around to make sure no Shield students, parents, or teachers were there before holding hands as they sat at the bar after placing their take-out order. Clint leaned on Tony’s shoulder, content in this small public display of affection. After a couple minutes, he pulled away and let go of Tony’s hand so they could sign. _Do you want to go to Harris Park to eat?_

Tony nodded. _I will like that,_ he responded, already excited about the idea of a picnic under the stars, just a few streetlights yards away. He thought it would be romantic, with the dim light and maybe some cuddling to stay warm. _After, you told me you want to come to my apartment, right?_ He winked. _We can watch a movie with Thor and Jane and kiss some or whatever. I can make dessert for you!_ he added excitedly, once he thought of that. _I think Jane doesn’t know ASL, but Thor and I can interpret so you can meet her._

Clint smiled. _Perfect._ He looked up when a bag of food was set in front of him, and then signed _thanks_ to the waiter before heading out with Tony. They got back in the car and drove ten minutes to get to the park. Clint handed Tony the bag of food so that he could get out a flashlight and a blanket. _I planned,_ he explained, smiling, as he led the older man to a nice, grassy area. It was far enough away from the main road and sidewalk that he thought it would be quiet for Tony, but close enough that they could use some light from the streetlamps to see.

They spread out the blanket and sat down before opening their food boxes and starting to eat, sharing as they leaned against each other happily. Clint was plenty warm in his sweatshirt and jacket, but he cuddled close to Tony anyway as they discussed the upcoming parent-and-teacher conferences. When they finished eat, Clint put their empty boxes in the bag they came in and put a rock on top so the bag wouldn’t blow away. He then lay down, pulling Tony down with him so he could lie on the older man’s chest and look at the stars.

Unable to see each other in this position, they didn’t sign. Instead, Tony ran his fingers through Clint’s hair as he looked at the stars and thought of how nice this was. He didn’t date much. Usually, Tony had one-night stands and never saw the partner again. He wasn’t even having sex with Clint yet and it was still so much better than the anonymous sex. Oh, God. He realized that he liked the blond a lot for having dated him a really short time.

Smiling, Clint pushed himself up off Tony’s chest a little. _This is nice,_ he told the older man shyly. _I’ve never looked at the stars with a date before._ He leaned down and gently kissed Tony’s lips before sitting up fully. _The wind is making it cold,_ he added sadly, shivering as a gust blew through the park.

 _Yeah,_ Tony replied, nodding in agreement. _Want to go to my apartment now? It will be warm, and we can make cookies!_ He looked excited at the prospect, and he stood up and offered Clint a hand. When the younger man stood, they picked up their blanket and threw their trash in a nearby garbage can before heading back to the car. Once they were buckled in, Clint turned on the heat and headed off toward Tony’s apartment complex.

Tony practically dragged Clint inside when they got to his apartment. Smiling, Clint just followed along until they reached the door and paused so Tony could unlock it. When they walked inside, he saw two people snuggled on the couch: a huge, muscular man with long hair whom he sort of recognized--obviously Thor--and a pretty, intelligent woman who was reading while being spooned. She started talking, and Clint turned to Tony.

 _She asked if you were my boyfriend,_ Tony explained, and then answered her, speaking and signing at the same time so everyone could understand. He had to use English grammar with his signing so that he could do them simultaneously, but Clint still understood the meaning. _Yes. This is Clint. This is Thor, my roommate, and Jane, his girlfriend._ He turned to Jane and Thor. _We will make cookies, do you want some?_ The couple nodded, and Clint gave them a hopefully endearing smile before following Tony into the kitchen. They opened a baking cookbook and Clint leaned against the counter as Tony preheated the over and then got out the ingredients for the cookies.

 _Do you bake a lot?_ Clint asked, watching as the older man began to put ingredients into a large bowl. _I only cook some. I eat free in the dining hall during the week. On the weekend I cook pasta much of the time because I can’t keep food that will rot. I never learned to cook because I started teaching in residential schools soon after I finished college._

Tony shrugged. _I cook some, Thor cooks some. We cook simple food,_ he explained, handing Clint the spoon to let his boyfriend stir and get some experience baking. _Pasta, chicken, roasted vegetables,_ he added for examples. He smiled and kissed Clint’s neck. _I can teach you to cook, if you want,_ he offered. _We can buy a cookbook and cook real meals together!_ He had wanted to start cooking more interesting things, and cooking with Clint would be a nice date.

 _That would be fun!_ Clint responded happily. _We could cook together on Saturdays for dates!_ He finished stirring in the chocolate chips and oatmeal that Tony had measured out and put in. _I finished mixing,_ he added, looking to Tony for directions. _I never made cookies before. What do I do now?_

 _Roll dough into small balls,_ Tony explained, setting down a baking sheet on the counter. _Then you put the balls here,_ he added, praying the pan with grease. _We will put them in the oven for ten or fifteen minutes and then we will have cookies!_ He reached into the bowl and pinched off some dough to roll it into a ball and put it on the pan. In a few minutes, the pan was full and in the oven and Tony was washing out the bowl in the sink, Clint’s arms looped around him from behind. The younger man nuzzled his neck happily.

Tony finished washing the bowl and set it on the drying rack before turning around in Clint’s arms. _Do you want to sit with Thor and Jane while those cook?_ he asked, giving the blond a peck on the lips. _You can meet them. I will interpret for you with Jane._

Clint nodded and followed Tony into the sitting room and waved cheerfully to Thor. _I think we met at field day last year, but not conversed much,_ he told him, sitting down in a chair.

 _Yes,_ Thor responded with a smile. _This is my girlfriend, Jane. She works at the physics lab at the University. I’m sorry, she doesn’t know ASL,_ he added, looking genuinely apologetic.

 _It’s fine,_ Clint assured him. He smiled and waved at Jane, who gave him thumbs up.  _Will you want to eat cookies with us?_ He thought it would be nice to be friends with Tony’s friends. That way they could learn to cook at his apartment because he did not want to attempt anything harder than pasta at his own place. The kitchens in the teachers’ dorm apartments were tiny. He watched as Thor spoke to Jane, clearly translating, and was glad to see her nod enthusiastically.

 _We will need to eat and leave,_ Thor told him, the apologetic look back on his face as he simultaneously spoke and sign. _We are going to see a movie tonight._

 _That’s okay,_ Tony interjected immediately. He was obviously happy to get some time alone in the apartment with his boyfriend. He grimaced a little in embarrassment as he realized how obvious that had been. _I mean,_ he corrected himself quickly in ASL and English, _it’s great you are going to a movie, you will have fun. You can take more cookies with you, if you want._

Thor rolled his eyes. _Of course you meant that,_ he replied, smirking. _I will go change clothes for the movie,_ he added before stepping out of the room.

 _You can talk and not interpret if you want to talk about physics,_ Clint told Tony honestly. _I wouldn’t really understand if you signed it. I will look at your books,_ he added, indicating the overflowing bookshelf against the wall.

 _If you really don’t care,_ Tony replied, offering Clint a smile as he watched the younger man take a couple steps over to the shelf and pick out a book to skim. He then turned to Jane to ask her about the progress of her research in physics-astronomy at the nearby university. When the timer went off a few minutes later, he tapped Clint before heading to the kitchen and pulling the pan out of the oven. _Look,_ he told his boyfriend, smiling proudly. _You cooked perfect cookies!_

 _I didn’t cook them,_ Clint argued, but he was clearly proud of himself too. He helped Tony put them on a plate and carried them out to the sitting room, putting the plate out toward Jane to offer her one. “Hot,” he added vocally, more worried about her burning her fingers or mouth than if she would judge how he spoke. She smiled and nodded her thanks as she took one.

Thor popped out into the sitting room again and took a cookie. _Delicious!_ he told the two bakers before leaning down and speaking to Jane. _We need to leave,_ he told Clint. _We will see you later._

 _Nice to meet you,_ Clint replied, waving as the couple left. He turned to Tony, smiling. _Cookies and then making out?_ He handed the older man a hot cookie and stepped in close, his smile changing from sweet to seductive as he did.

 _I think that will be good,_ Tony responded, kissing Clint’s cheek before eating his cookie, wiggling his eyebrows suggestively.


	5. Spending the Night

Clint put down the plate of cookies on top of the television before sitting down on the couch. He spread out, stretching a little so that Tony would catch a glimpse of the bottom of his six-pack when his shirt rode up. He crossed his ankles as he extended his legs out in front of him, smiling invitingly. _You’re really handsome,_ he told the other man, and then handed him a glass of water to rinse out his mouth before they got to kissing.

 _Thank you,_ Tony replied, taking a gulp of water and swirling it around in his mouth to clear it out before swallowing. _You look good too,_ he added, straddling Clint’s lap with a knee on either side of the younger man’s hips. He pressed a close-lipped kiss against his boyfriend’s lips, and then smiled. Once he felt Clint arms wrapping around his waist, he gently grabbed onto the blonde’s shoulders and pulled him in for another, deeper kiss. He ran a hand up into the younger man’s hair and gently massaged his scalp, since the hair was too short to grab onto. He lowered himself a little farther so that he was resting his weight in Clint’s lap rather than kneeling above it.

Clint pulled away from Tony’s mouth to gasp for breath, and then moved down to attack the brunette’s neck with open-mouthed kisses and soft nips with his teeth. He moved to suck at the older man’s Adam’s apple, pleased to feel the vibrations of his moans. Sliding his hands down, he squeezed Tony’s ass and gently thrust up against him. He let go of the firm ass, though, and tapped Tony’s back as he pulled back. _Maybe this time you will not come in your pants,_ he told the older man hopefully. _Can I do something more?_ He grinned optimistically at Tony and kissed him softly, nipping at his lips, waiting for an answer with a hand hovering over the fly to his boyfriend’s pants.

Tony pulled back and nodded enthusiastically, groaning happily when Clint’s nimble fingers quickly unbuttoned and unzipped his jeans. He shivered in excitement and pleasure as a calloused palm brushed over his erection. Leaning in a little more, he began to suck on Clint’s earlobe, trying to show without words how much he loved what the younger man was doing for him. Knowing Clint was the type to stop him if he went too far, he reached down and went for the Batman belt buckle holding up his boyfriend’s pants.

Clint arched up into Tony’s hand when the older man pulled his cock out of his boxers and began to stroke slowly. He let go of Tony’s cock and brought his hand to his mouth to lick it, hoping the other man would follow his example, as his dry hand was chafing Clint’s erection. He reached back down and started jerking Tony off roughly, moaning and squirming when his boyfriend took the hint and wet his hand a little before getting back to it. He thumbed beneath the head of Tony’s thick erection, shuddering as he looked down and took in the sight of it. It was flushed and hard, twitching in his hand; though it was short, it was wonderfully thick, the type Clint was pretty sure he would be able to suck easily when they got to that point.

On top of him, Tony was thinking similar thoughts about Clint’s cock. It was slim but longer than his, the type he liked to get fucked by. He couldn’t get too distracted by those contemplations, though, because Clint was doing something amazing with his thumb at his slit and all Tony could do was thrust and try to remember what he was doing enough to jerk off his boyfriend well. He grunted and bent his head to bite the junction of Clint’s shoulder and neck as his free hand drifted down to squeeze the younger man’s balls, which were tightly drawn up by this point. He understood; he felt about ready to blow his load all over. He pulled his hand from Clint’s balls and used it to push the man’s shirt up, so that he wouldn’t get semen on his shirt.

Clint grinned a little through his haze of arousal, knowing what it meant that Tony was shifting his shirt. He put his hand on Tony’s lower back and slid it down into the man’s pants to grip at his bare ass, thrusting into his grip. He squeezed at the firm muscles beneath his hand, trying to encourage his boyfriend to come for him.

Tony gasped and then groaned at the feeling of a strong hand with short nails gripping his ass. He sucked harder at Clint’s neck before falling away to groan his name as he thrust sharply into the blonde’s hand and came, barely remembering to keep his own hand moving over his boyfriend’s erection. He glanced down and shook a little as a last spurt of come splashed out at the sight of Clint’s stomach covered in his release. Once he cleared his mind, he began to stroke Clint quicker and harder, licking soothingly at the bite mark on his neck as he did.

It wasn’t going to take much longer, Clint knew. He was achingly hard and Tony twisted his wrist really nicely while he stroked. He bit his lip and shut his eyes, letting himself feel how Tony jerked and licked him. It was only a minute before he frantically pushed up the older man’s shirt, twitching his hips up and letting his mouth fall open to pant, probably loudly, before he arched his back and came with what he guessed was a howl. He gasped through the aftershocks as Tony kept stroking him, and then pushed the brunette’s hand away when the sensation became too much.

 _That was amazing,_ he signed, not caring that his hands were sticky and shoved up awkwardly between their bodies. _Your hands feel really good._ He kissed Tony softly. _Want to clean up and cuddle? We can watch a movie and eat cookies,_ he suggested, looking around for tissues or something to clean off their stomachs.

Tony nodded and pulled off his shirt so it wouldn’t get messy. He put it on the back on the couch so he would remember to throw it in the laundry, then walked over to the kitchen, tucking himself back in and zipping up as he walked. He grabbed a couple paper towels and wet them in the sink before wiping off his stomach and throwing them away and wetting two more and taking them back to do the same for Clint. He smiled when he saw that the younger man had taken his shirt off as well. _Sexy,_ he signed, kissing Clint’s abs after cleaning them off. He then wiped their hands off and threw the paper towels into the garbage can. _Do you want to pick a movie? I can get milk for the cookies._ He pointed Clint toward the DVD collection next to the television as he went for the kitchen for two glasses full of milk.

He smiled when he came back into the room to see Clint stretched out on the couch with the pre-movie FBI warnings, using the remote to put on the closed captions. _What movie did you pick?_ He lay down on top of the blond and snuggled into his chest, looking up enough to see the younger man sign.

 _Die Hard,_ Clint replied, then stopped signing and rolled them to their sides so that they were spooning, with Tony’s back pressed snugly against Clint’s broad chest. He kissed the older man’s ear and then settled in to watch the movie.

Halfway through the film, Tony heard snoring behind him and smiled. Clint had fallen asleep against him and was cuddled up happily against him. He laid his hand on the younger man’s thigh and rubbed softly, glad to be doing something so cheesy with his new boyfriend. Would it be awkward to ask Clint to spend the night? He wasn’t sure. It seemed natural, since the man was already here and once the movie finished it would be smart to stay here instead of going back to his apartment. Tony could make him breakfast!

When the movie ended, he turned over in Clint’s arms to gently shake the younger man’s arms, smiling and giving him a little kiss when his eyes flickered open. _Do you want me to drive you home? Or,_ he continued, willing himself not to blush as he asked, _do you want to stay here? I can give you pajamas if you want._ He slid his left hand into Clint’s back pocket, grinning.

 _Okay,_ Clint responded cheerfully. _We can cook breakfast together. That would be fun._ He thought for a moment about cooking. _What cookbook should we buy to start learning to cook? I think maybe a baking book and one for meals. Like that Julia Child book from that movie._

Tony smiled. _The French cooking book? That would be good. Let me get my computer and we can find it on Amazon._ He regretfully untangled himself from Clint and grabbed his laptop from the kitchen table where he had left it after work and brought it back to the couch, where his boyfriend was now sitting up. He opened the computer and brought up Amazon to search for the cookbook they wanted. _Here it is,_ he told Clint, pointing at the screen. _It is only seventeen dollars used,_ he added, clicking on the speed checkout button and quickly buying the book through his set-up account. _I have a baking book we can use. It’s also by Julia Child. Pepper gave it to me but I never used it._

Clint grinned. _We can try making biscuits or maybe pancakes in the morning,_ he suggested, grinning. He reached over and grabbed a cookie from the plate on the table as well as a glass of milk. He took a bite of the cookie before swallowing some milk and then held the rest of it out to give to Tony. _Can I shower? My stomach still feels sticky,_ he added in explanation.

 _Of course,_ Tony replied, standing up to lead Clint to the bathroom between his and Thor’s bedrooms. _Wait one minute and I will give you pajama pants,_ he told his boyfriend, popping into his room quickly to grab some blue and purple plaid flannel pants, which he set on the counter in the bathroom. _The towel there is clean,_ he added, pointing to the green towel on the rack. _I will be in my room or the kitchen grading papers when you finish._ He stepped out of the bathroom and went back to his room to get his students’ lab reports out of his shoulder bag. Feeling a little lethargic after a nice orgasm and then watching a movie lazily, he decided to simply stay in bed to work. He grabbed a green pen from his bedside table and picked a lab report at random and started reviewing it, correcting problems and making comments in the margins.

He was on the fifth page of the report when Clint came out of the bathroom, skin still damp and the flannel pants cling to his legs some. _If you need to shower I can read a book or something,_ the blond told Tony, sitting down on the bed next to him and glancing over at his paper before finding himself confused. He had never taken physics.

Tony shook his head, smiling. _I cleaned myself well. What do you want to do?_

 _No, I will read and you can still work,_ Clint replied immediately. _Is your baking cookbook in the kitchen? I will get that and find some recipes that look fun._ He waited until Tony nodded before he went and got the book. He brought it back and sat in bed, his back propped against the headboard with his shoulder touching Tony’s and began to flip through the pages, looking at the pictures and names of foods to see what he wanted to make. He was tired from his day, which had started very early when a student had gotten sick and wet the bed, and he soon fell asleep with his head lolling on Tony’s shoulder.

Deciding that he didn’t mind going to bed early if it meant snuggling with Clint, Tony put his papers down with only half of them graded, put the cookbook Clint was reading on the bedside table, and changed into pajama pants. He brushed his teeth in the bathroom before heading back to his bedroom and shutting the door so he wouldn’t wake up when Thor got back, then turned off the light and spooned up behind Clint, nuzzling him as he let himself drift off slowly with his snoring boyfriend.

Clint woke up in a strange bed, but smiled when he saw Tony’s slack, sleeping face next to his. He rolled over to look at the time and saw it was only 7:30. That was his own fault for going to sleep so early. He reached over Tony and grabbed the cookbook off the bedside table and started flipping through it again. He was still doing that a half-hour later when Tony blinked awake and kissed his chest. _Good morning,_ Clint signed after putting the book down. _Want to make pancakes? I need to leave in an hour and a half and I don’t know how long it will take to make them,_ he added, shrugging.

Tony smiled. _It will only take an hour, including cleaning,_ he assured his boyfriend. _I need to take a shower and then we can cook, okay?_ He gave Clint another little kiss before heading to the bathroom and hopping into a hot shower. He returned to the bedroom in boxers and threw on jeans and a t-shirt before turning to Clint. _Do you want to borrow some of my clothes or will you wear your yesterday clothes?_

 _I can wear yesterday clothes,_ Clint told Tony, smiling as he got up and grabbed his clothing and slipped into them quickly. _I think I smell coffee,_ he added. _I will go to the bathroom and then we can drink some,_ he suggested, heading into the small bathroom to pee and wash his hands and face. When he came out, he saw the bedroom was empty and headed directly for the kitchen, where he saw Tony and Thor sitting at the table. _Good morning,_ he signed to the longhaired man. _Is Jane not here?_

 _She went to her own apartment last night,_ Thor explained. _Did you sleep well?_ He poured coffee into a mug and handed it to Clint, pushing a bottle of creamer and a sugar bowl toward the blond.

Clint nodded, pouring a little cream into his coffee but not some sugar. _Yes,_ he replied, sitting down next to Tony. _You two have a really nice apartment. It is better than the dorm I live in._

Thor grinned sympathetically. _I worked in the dorm my first three years working at Shield,_ he explained. _I was really happy when I felt like I had enough money to move out to here with Tony._

 _Cool,_ Clint comment. _How long have you and Jane dated?_

 _Four years,_ Thor replied proudly. _She accidentally hit me with her car in the parking lot there while I moved into this apartment. We went to dinner for her to apologize and then we went to dinner again and again. I think I will ask her to marry me sometime soon._

Clint smiled because Thor sounded like he had fallen much in love. _I think she will say yes,_ he told him. _We will make pancakes now,_ he added, sipping his coffee. _Will you want to eat one?_

Thor nodded enthusiastically, and then glanced down at the newspaper that was in front of him. Tony got up and pulled Clint gently with him into the kitchen to start making their pancakes.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Clint is apparently really excited to learn to cook.


	6. Meeting Tony's Baby

A couple weeks later, Clint was sitting on his couch, Tony practically in his lap, when his videophone began to flash. He stared for a second; nobody ever called him, since even for school business he texted. He gently moved his boyfriend over before scooting to the edge of the couch to answer, curious when he was that it was a video relay interpreter; whoever was calling didn’t have their own videophone.

 _Hello,_ he began, waiting for the person on the other end to tell him who they were.

_It’s Barney. I want to talk to my favorite brother._

Clint’s face hardened, and he glared a little extra in hopes that the interpreter’s tone would convey his unhappiness at this call. _What do you want?_ Barney never called without a reason. He would need money to make bail, or want Clint to drive three hours to rob a liquor store with him. Needless to say, Clint didn’t want to be a thief. That was finished and he was not returning.

_I need some money. My bail is…_

Clint didn’t let the interpreter finish the sentence. _No. You can wait until your trial. I am not your ATM. If you want to stay out of jail, you will find a job and stop stealing. Goodbye._ He pressed a button to end the call before turning back to Tony with an apologetic look on his face. _Sorry,_ he told his boyfriend tiredly. _My brother is… he’s not a good person._

Tony’s face was sympathetic but not pitying. _That sucks,_ he replied bluntly, putting down his stack of quizzes and his pen. _Do you want to talk about it, or keep working? Or we can stop working and cook or go shopping. Whatever. It’s Saturday, we can do what you want._

 _I’m lucky I don’t have a criminal record,_ Clint explained with a shrug. _He became my gaurdian when he turned eighteen, and he steals much. Whatever. I left when I went to college and I never regretted it._ He smiled, clearly ready to change the subject. _Do you want to go shopping or something? We can stop working. I’m bored with writing my history lesson plan. I will finish it tomorrow._ He was making this plan over two weeks in advance, so he wasn’t worried about putting it off a couple days.

 _Okay,_ Tony responded immediately. He could see that Clint was uncomfortable talking about his brother, and that receiving a call from him had made the younger man a little upset. _It’s only one. We can do anything! We can cook if you want, but we just ate. Maybe not cook. We can go to the mall and find music or clothes. I think all your clothes not for work are from college,_ he added teasingly, looking pointedly at Clint’s current shirt: Gallaudet Bison.

Clint rolled his eyes. He didn’t like shopping usually, but it would probably be fun with Tony. _Okay, but remember that you promised to show me your robot tonight,_ he reminded his boyfriend; he had been excited about a chance to see Tony’s project since Wednesday. _You promised, and it sounds cute. But we can go shopping, and I will maybe buy new casual clothes. Maybe,_ he repeated firmly as Tony grinned. _I don’t like new clothes, they always feel stiff._

Tony wiggled his eyebrows sugestively and brought his hands up, clearly to make a joke about stiff things Clint liked, but the blonde just rolled his eyes and again and smacked his boyfriend’s hands gently. _I will get my wallet and shoes, okay? Wait one minute,_ the Iowan told Tony, and then he slipped into his room. He picked up a brown leather wallet and stuck it in his back pocket before grabbing a pair of purple Converse sneakers and putting them on while sitting on his bed. He reapplied deoderant, because he always worried about smelling bad, and then return to the sitting area to see Tony ready to go. The older man had his shoes on his feet once more, and his work was all packed up in his messenger bag.

 _I can drive,_ Tony said, and Clint nodded in agreement. _We can go to the mall, then see my robot, and then cook dinner. It will be nice._ He grinned and gave his boyfriend a soft little kiss before practically dragging him out of his little apartment and down the stairs to the parking lot.

They were at the mall in twenty minutes, and Clint had stopped Tony in front of a large directory sign. He had no idea where to go for casual clothes; embarrassingly, Tony was almost right to think Clint’s casual clothes were all from college. He eventually decided on a store, trusting that his boyfriend would be able to suggest a store if he couldn’t find what he wanted there. After he tried on a couple pairs of jeans, he sighed and tried to explain the problem to Tony. _They aren’t comfortable,_ he told his boyfriend, trying to keep himself from being whiny. _I never had clothes that were new until I was eighteen. I still don’t like them._ All of the clothes they had gotten at the orphanage had been donations, and all were used. He realized he must have never adjusted to the feeling of stiff, new fabrics. _Can we go to a bookstore or somewhere? I will look for jeans at a thrift store sometime other._

Tony nodded, smiling. _You don’t have to get new jeans because I suggested it,_ he pointed out, and then let himself be led off to a  bookstore. He made a mental note to find a brand of jeans that came already soft and worn-feeling to get Clint for his birthday. He was happy for now to sit down in an armchair at the bookstore and read, Clint beside him with his head on Tony’s shoulder and his eyes glued to a version of the Robin Hood story that Tony hadn’t read before.

An hour later, Tony glanced up from his book and nearly fell out of his chair in panic. Fury was browsing books five feet away, and Clint was still cuddled up against him. This was not the time to reveal to their boss that they were dating, which was frowned up much if not technically against any rules. He elbowed Clint and jerked his head toward the tall, bald man. Luckily, the blond caught on quickly and sat up and started signing with Tony--he was trying to give the impression that they had run into each other, rather than having come together to read next to each other. They had good timing too--Fury turned and saw them within a minute, and walked over.

 _Hi,_ he began, giving them each a nod in hello. _How are you?_ He cared about Clint’s response; Clint was a good teacher, despite a pretty rocky past, and seemed like a nice kid. He honestly didn’t give a shit about Tony, though. Stark was always doing weird experiments with Banner or tormenting middle school history teacher Steve Rogers. He politely watched Tony’s generic _fine_ response before turning to Clint.

 _I’m okay,_ Clint told the Shield director, giving him a wan smile. Despite Tony and now the book in his hands distracting him, he was still a little upset about Barney’s phone call. _How are you?_

Fury gave the blonde a raised eyebrow, but didn’t press him. He would ask Coulson or Natasha if the young man continued looking less than happy for a long time. _Fine,_ he replied cheerfully--well, cheerfully for Fury, which would be slightly angry for anyone else. _I’m here to find a book to send my mother for her birthday next week. I should find something and leave. I have company for dinner. I will see you on Monday._ He gave each of them another nod before heading off to another section.

Tony waited until Fury had been out of sight for twenty seconds before turning back to Clint. _That was really scary,_ he told the younger man, only half-joking.

Clint shook his head, smiling. _Fury is tall and doesn’t smile much,_ he explained patiently, _that doesn’t mean he’s mean and scary. His mom tutored me when I was at Gallaudet and then she recommended me to him. He hired me the year I graduated college, and he didn’t care I was held back twice. He’s a good man,_ he finished simply. He realized that Tony was the only person other than Natasha who knew about him being held back, and how he hadn’t even hesitated to tell him.

 _I didn’t know he gave people chances,_ Tony admitted, looking a little amazed. _This will sound arrogant but I always did great in school, and I didn’t feel like it would be hard to get a job here until I tried the interview. I was surprised he hired me. I thought he hated me, and I had to do intensive ASL for a couple months to be ready to communicate with students._

_Shield has money especially to teach new teachers to sign,_ Clint replied with a shrug. _They want good teachers, and some good teachers can’t sign yet. They would rather take time and money to teach someone like you to sign than hire a mediocre teacher who already signs._ He put his book on a table so he could be a little more expressive. _That’s why you can interview in English, ASL, SEE, cued speech, or whatever you want. They care more about the person than the language. Even Fury had to work on his ASL when he came here, you know._

Tony’s eyebrows shot up in surprise. _But his mom is Deaf, right?_

Clint nodded. _The black community has different ASL than the white community,_ he explained, a little shocked Tony hadn’t learned this somewhere along the lines. _It’s hard to go from a primarily black Deaf community to a primarily white one, and white to black. Because Shield is mostly white, Fury had to spend some time adjusting to white ASL. I think he realizes that if someone is willing to spend a summer learning ASL before starting the job, they are dedicated._

 _He was right about me,_ Tony answered with a smile. _I spent a couple months learning ASL and now I have been teaching at Shield for five years. I like teaching at Shield more than any other school I tought at before._ He put his book down and stood up, stretching a little before turning back to his boyfriend. _Do you want to go see my robot? You can play with him!_ Tony was nearly bobbing in excitement as he thought of his boyfriend making friends with his robot, which he privately thought of as his baby. _After I will take you to eat hamburgers and french fries. It will be a great date, right?_

Clint smiled widely and nodded. _I can’t wait._ He stood up as well and grabbed his book, telling Tony he would be right back, and then putting his book back on the shelf. When he got back to the chairs they had been in, Tony had shelved his book too. He grabbed his boyfriend’s hand, kissed the back of it, and let go so they could sign while they walked out to the car. _Where are you building the robot?_ he asked as he belted in.

 _I’m renting a part of a lab at the university,_ Tony explained, starting the car. _I’m so excited you will meet my baby!_

 _Your baby?_ Clint repeated, raising an eyebrow and giggling a bit. _Will I be a step-father if we keep dating a long time?_ He sat back as Tony shook his head and let his boyfriend drive without distraction, looking out the window as they headed off toward the university. He knew it was silly, but he felt that getting to see Tony’s robot was a big step in their relationship, especially if the older man thought of it as his baby.

When they got to the university, Tony pulled into a parking lot in the northeast corner of the campus. He pointed out a large, concrete building. _My space is on the fourth floor of that building,_ he explained, and then gave Clint a little kiss before getting out of the car and rushing around to open the car door for his boyfriend, grinning at how happy he was being chivalrous.

 _You’re cute,_ Clint told Tony as he got out of the car. _Show me your robot! I’m so excited to meet him. What can he do?_

Tony smiled even wider as he led Clint into the elevator, not wanting to walk all the way to the fourth floor right now. _Dummy can pick things up, make toast, hand me things when I tell him…_ His smile fell as he realized something, and it was replaced with a guilty look.

 _Are you okay?_ Clint asked, noticing Tony’s expression.

 _Dummy does things when I talk to him,_ Tony explained, still unhappy that he had forgotten that big detail.

Clint shrugged. _I can try to talk to him,_ he suggested, giving Tony a huge smile to try to cheer him up.  _If he can’t understand, you will need to work on his programing,_ he added teasingly. He was glad to see the corners of his boyfriend’s mouth turn upwards at that, and then he followed his boyfriend out of the elevator when it got to the fourth floor. They went down the hall and around a corner before ducking into room 424. The room was divided by short walls, like large office cubicles. Tony led him through the maze until they got to one that was obviously Tony’s. There were Black Sabbath and AC/DC posters all over the walls, and an arm-like shiny robot, with three finger-like claws. _He’s cute!_

Tony reached out and patted the robot, saying something that Clint couldn’t see to lip-read. _You can ask him to hand you something,_ the brunette suggested to Clint. _Or he can make you toast. Just say his name first: D-U-M-M-Y._ Tony made sure to fingerspell the robot’s name, since he only used his namesign to Clint so far.

Shyly, Clint took a deep breath to try to psych himself up to talk. This wasn’t something he did often, but he really wanted to try with Tony’s robot. Besides, Tony was his boyfriend; if there was one person he could speak in front of, it should be the physics teacher. “Dummy,” he started, looking to Tony for affirmation he was saying the name right. His boyfriend gave him an encouraging smile, so Clint decided he could continue. “Dummy, you can make toast please.” He watched hopefully as the robot… did nothing. _Did I talk wrong?_

 _No, no,_ Tony replied immediately. _I promise, you talked perfectly. He’s not a smart robot. His name is Dummy, remember?_ He wished there were a way to make Dummy understand his boyfriend, because the blonde looked crushed, looking unhappily at the floor. _Clint,_ he signed, getting the younger man’s attention back, _your voice is fine. Don’t feel bad. I don’t know if Dummy can understand other hearing people’s voices. Maybe because I programmed the vocal cues he only knows my voice._ Okay, that was a small lie; Bruce had been able to command Dummy when he had visited. But Clint looked angry at his voice and sad that he hadn’t gotten Dummy to make toast. _Your voice is good,_ he reiterated. _You sound sexy._ He wiggled his eyebrows suggestively. _You’re sexier when you sign, because you’re confident, but I like you talking or signing._ He wasn’t lying at this point. He did like Clint’s voice. It was weird and squeaky and too far in the back of his throat but it was Clint’s, and that made it gorgeous to Tony. _I will work on programming him to understand you._

Clint offered Tony a smile, blinking fast so he could hide how his eyes had gotten a little wet when he was upset. He knew that he was over-emotional because of Barney’s phone call. Also, he had started thinking of meeting Dummy as a huge part of their relationship, and he honestly felt like he had fucked it up. _My voice is not sexy,_ he told Tony, rolling his eyes a little. _Natasha told me most people can’t understand me._

 _She’s dumb,_ Tony replied with a smile, leaning forward to kiss Clint’s cheek. _I like everything about you. I like how you sign, how you eat, how you talk, how you kiss, how you grade writing assignments, and everything else,_ he explained, meaning every cheesy sign he made. _You are awesome. Let’s leave. I will take you to get a hamburger, and then we can do whatever you want._ He kissed his boyfriend slow and sweet, trying to take his mind off the issues with Dummy. Dammit, he should have thought of this before bringing Clint to meet his baby. He would get Bruce’s help fixing the voice command programming.

Clint shrugged when the older man pulled away, but tried to perk up for Tony. _You are so nice,_ he told his boyfriend. _I like hamburgers. After, can we go to my apartment to watch a movie or cuddle? I should be at home if Barney or his lawyer needs to call me._ He didn’t want to have another conversation with his brother, but he would be near the phone so he could tell them that he wouldn’t do anything to help. His brother deserved to be in prison.

 _Of course,_ Tony replied instantly. He then took Clint’s hand, kissed the back of it, and kept holding it as he led the way back to the elevator. He rode down and walked to the car on autopilot, trying to think of how to get Dummy to understand the Deaf accent. Maybe he could imitate it to teach the robot which sounds were equivalent. He let go of Clint’s hand so they could get in the car. _Ready to go?_

 _Yes,_ Clint replied, looking a little more cheerful, and then pulled out his phone as it buzzed in his pocket. He sighed when he read the message. _Can we go home?_ He felt bad cancelling the hamburger date, but… he had no choice. _Natasha texted and said my brother called her. I should call him. I don’t know how he knows her number but it’s not okay that he called her…_

Tony nodded quickly. _We’ll go to your apartment and I can cook dinner when you talk to him._ He started the car but turned to Clint once more before putting it into drive. _If you want to call Barney privately, I can drop you off?_

 _No, please stay,_ Clint told his boyfriend earnestly. _I will need good food and some kisses and cuddling after having a conversation with Barney._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I (obviously) don't know what the Deaf voice sounds like but that is how my brother told me I sound once...


	7. Valentine's Day

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I meant to post this on Valentine's Day but it became very long. I hope you enjoy it!

_You can’t call my friends,_ Clint told Barney’s lawyer over the video relay service. _If you want to talk to me, you call me until I answer. Don’t call my friends._

 _I called her because you can’t hear and I thought maybe you didn’t hear the phone,_ the lawyer explained through the interpreter.

Clint rolled his eyes. _My phone flashes. I don’t need to hear. I don’t know how Barney has Natasha’s number but you can’t call her. I will not be a character witness for Barney. If I went to the courtroom I would only tell the jury bad things. He beats people up and steals and is a bad person._

_He took care of you when you were thirteen until you were eighteen._

_No,_ Clint replied firmly, getting pretty pissed. _He was my legal guardian and made me help him rob convenience stores. Do you want me to tell people about the time he broke my nose because I wanted to study instead of robbing a liquor store? I moved away from him when I turned eighteen and finished my last two years of high school living with random people during school breaks._

_You are ungrateful._

_He never learned to sign,_ Clint pointed out, face hard. _He communicated with gestures, and only conversed enough to tell me to steal things. Stop calling my friends and me. Goodbye._ He reached down and ended the call before Barney’s lawyer could respond. He sighed and looked over the counter to watch Tony, who was carefully looking down as he stirred pasta on the stove, making sure to give Clint his privacy for the phone call. He stood and wandered into the kitchen area, tapping the counter to get Tony’s attention.

 _Are you okay?_ Tony asked, seeing that Clint wasn’t smiling.

Clint shrugged. _After we eat will you hold me and kiss me?_ He wasn’t happy at all. First he hadn’t been able to get Tony’s robot to understand him and then this stupid lawyer had the nerve to tell him that he was ungrateful. _Sorry, I feel really needy right now._

 _You don’t need to feel sorry, I love to hold and kiss you,_ Tony replied instantly _. I thought you might need comfort food. There’s three-color rotini and I have some cream sauce,_ he explained, pointing at the small pan with thick white sauce in it. _No salad,_ he added, smiling. _Salad is not a comfort food._ He leaned in and kissed Clint’s nose playfully, trying to distract him from any unhappiness. _Will you want to cuddle on the couch with a movie, or in bed?_

 _Maybe in bed?_ Clint suggested hopefully. _I want you to hold me until I fall asleep,_ he added shyly. He leaned over Tony’s shoulder to look at the pasta. _This looks perfect._ He wrapped his arms around Tony from behind and just held onto him, face buried in the older man’s neck, until the pasta was finished and they had to separate to get everything ready and on plates. A couple minutes later, they were seated at the table, knees touching. _This tastes good._

Tony smiled. _Thank you,_ he replied, eating a bite as well. He let his boyfriend eat without forcing a conversation, knowing that the younger man was caught in his own thoughts. When the blonde finished, Tony kissed the top of his head and took his plate from the table to put it in the tiny dishwasher under the counter. He finished cleaning up before pulling Clint out of his chair gently. _Do you want to put on pajamas to get in bed?_

Clint nodded, holding Tony’s hand as they walked into his bedroom. He pulled off his shirt and jeans; the shirt was thrown into his laundry basket and the jeans carefully folded and placed on the dresser to wear a second time. He pawed through his drawers until he found his favorite pair of pajama pants, which he stepped into easily before falling into bed and immediately snuggling into Tony’s side.

 _Do you want to discuss Barney?_ Tony asked cautiously, not sure if Clint was up for that, or if it would help.

 _No,_ Clint signed. _I don’t want to have a conversation. If we have a conversation, you can’t hold me._ He let his head fall onto Tony’s chest, his feet tangling into his boyfriend’s legs as he slung his left arm over the older man’s chest.

Tony just wrapped his arms around Clint’s waist and held him close, bending one arm so he could pet his boyfriend’s hair softly. He pretended not to notice when his shirt got a little damp under Clint’s eyes, and simply turned out the light when the younger man began to snore, not bothering to undress.

*

When Clint woke up in the morning, Tony wasn’t in bed. He found the brunette in the kitchen, drinking orange juice and glancing through an illustrated book about medieval weapons. _Good morning,_ he signed when Tony looked up. _Sorry about last night. I was a mess._

Tony smiled widely at Clint. _You don’t need to tell me sorry,_ he reminded his boyfriend. _Come here and give me a kiss. I’m happy you woke up. I need to go to my apartment to do some lesson planning soon._ He grabbed Clint’s ass playfully when the younger man pressed their lips together, but let go and turned back to the book in his hand, not really planning to start anything.

Clint poured himself a cup of apple juice and unwrapped a granola bar, devouring it in two bites before sitting down next to Tony and thinking about what he had to do that day. He decided that he was far enough ahead in lesson planning that he could spend the day reading. Yesterday had been emotionally trying, and he felt like he deserved a day to reread some Tolkien. He soon kissed Tony goodbye and settled on his couch with the _Two Towers_ , not bothering to change out of his pajamas.

*

A few weeks later, Clint was nervously adjusting his purple button-down, trying to make sure the sleeves were rolled up to the same length on both arms. Natasha smacked his hands down after a few seconds, clearly getting tired of watching her friend fret. _Clint, it’s a date with Tony. You two have gone on many,_ she pointed out. _Some of the students here freak out about first dates less than you’re freaking out about this._

Clint gave her a half-hearted glare. _It’s Valentine’s Day,_ he reminded the redhead. _That means our date should be special. We’re going somewhere a little fancy,_ he added, gesturing at his semi-formal clothes (the purple button-down and a pair of black pants). _We always go really casual places._

Natasha rolled her eyes. _You’re fine when you go to maybe nice places,_ she replied suspiciously. _What are you really nervous about?_

Blushing furiously, Clint shook his head, not wanting to tell Nat.

 _I can think of seventeen ways to break your hand right now,_ she told him with a sunny smile that terrified him.

 _I’m going to ask him to have real sex tonight,_ Clint told her, face becoming an even darker red. _We’ve used hands and one time I used my mouth but I want to have sex. We’ve been dating over a month. I think we have waited enough._ He wasn’t the type of man who felt like he needed much sex--he was happy with Tony’s hand or even his own--but he had realized the night before when thinking about their date that he wanted sex with Tony because he really liked the man.

 _You love him,_ Natasha replied bluntly, smirking. _You are cute. I think love is stupid and I still think you are cute. Are you going to say something romantic, or just pull him into bed and fuck him? Are you going to top?_

 _Stop!_ Clint interrupted before Natasha could ask any more questions. _I don’t know how I will ask him, and I don’t know who will top. Maybe I won’t be brave enough to bring it up. I don’t know if he will say yes. You’re making me more nervous, so stop it,_ he added firmly.

Natasha held up her hands in surrender before lowering them to sign. _Okay, I’ll stop. I’m not trying to make you worry; I just think it’s good that you are asking. You sometimes don’t ask for what you want. When you ask him, be cute and sexy. If you aren’t pushy he’ll be happy. He’ll tell you yes ad you’ll have great sex, or he’ll tell you no but be nice about it. You don’t need to feel stressed about it. Now text him and tell him you’ll be ready in ten minutes,_ she finished, tossing him his phone from where it sat on his bedside table.

Clint caught the phone easily and sent Tony a text message-- _Ten minutes I will ready--_ before he dabbed on his cologne and made Natasha tell him that his hair looked good. _I’ll see you later. Have a good friend-date with Phil,_ he told her, herding her out of his apartment before locking it behind him. They walked down the stairs together, then split off; Clint walked toward the back parking lot to meet Tony, and Natasha headed across campus to find Phil. Clint bounced happily on his feet when he saw Tony’s car pulling into the lot. He barely waited until the car stopped before opening up the passenger door and getting in. Leaning over, he gave Tony a loving kiss before pulling back to look at the older man’s outfit. _You look sexy,_ he told him happily, taking in the button-down and dark pants.

Tony smiled widely. _You too,_ he replied, giving Clint a second kiss. _Are you ready for our first fancy date?_ He couldn’t stop smiling as he put the car in drive and left the campus, heading toward downtown. The whole fifteen-minute drive, he leaned over to kiss Clint at every red light and stop sign, laughing happily whenever he made his boyfriend blush. This date would be perfect. He had told Clint how to dress, but hadn’t explained where they were going; he was sure that the younger man was going to love the restaurant he had picked.

 _What is this place?_ Clint asked when they got out of the car in front of a two-story restaurant with a red, white, and blue sign. He had never been out in this part of town before, and hadn’t even heard of this restaurant.

 _It’s a place that serves traditional food from different parts of America with recipes that are hundreds of years old and some that are new,_ Tony explained, kissing Clint’s cheek as they walked up the stairs to the door. _You know Steve, who teachers history to the seventh grade? He told me about this restaurant. I hope we will both like it. He said it was a little fancy but not very. You look perfect,_ he added, smiling widely as he looked closely at Clint’s whole outfit. _Purple makes you look sexier than you usually do, and you always look sexy._

Clint blushed again, but he pulled himself together so he could smile politely at the woman leading them to a table in the back of the restaurant, which had red and blue candles in the middle. He tapped Tony on the shoulder. _Can you ask them to move the candles? It will be hard to sign with them in the middle._ He watched as Tony spoke to the woman, who smiled, nodded, and took away one candle. The other, she put on the side of the table where it would be out of the way. She let them get seated before handing them each a menu and walking away.

 _Peanut soup!_ Tony signed excitedly, pointing at one of the appetizers. _That looks delicious. It’s in honor of George Washington Carver._

 _I used to think he was the first president,_ Clint admitted with a smile. _No wonder I got held back twice._ He glanced at his own menu. _There is also a buffalo chicken appetizer. That will be good too. We can share, like we usually do,_ he suggested. _I think I will have the buffalo chicken appetizer and the vinegar-style barbeque. What will you have with your soup?_

Tony had to read through the entrée section before he chose what he wanted. _I will have the fried chicken,_ he told his boyfriend. _I like fried chicken but I only have it sometimes. Don’t look at the desserts,_ he added quickly, another large smile lighting up his face. _I made special dessert at my apartment. Thor is going to Jane’s, so we can go to my home and eat dessert and… whatever._

Clint blushed again, smiling happily, both at the thought of a specially-made dessert and then some “whatever” with Tony. _This place is really nice. Thank you for bringing me here,_ he told his boyfriend after glancing around. _I love the pictures from different parts of America. The ones of all the corn make me remember Iowa._ He glanced up when he saw a young man approach their table. _Is he here to take our orders?_ Clint asked Tony, who nodded. The blond smiled at the waiter before pointing at his two choices and then handing him the menu and letting Tony talk.

When the waiter left with the wine glasses and a promise to bring them the beer Tony had ordered, the older man gave Clint a big smile. _You like this place?_ He was happy, if unsurprised, when Clint nodded enthusiastically. _Good. Steve told me the food is good, and I thought it would be nice to go to an exciting restaurant. I had never heard of anything like here before Steve told me about it._

 _Are you and Steve friends?_ Clint asked curiously. He hadn’t seen the two hanging out, but that didn’t mean much; he mostly only saw the other elementary teachers during the school day.

 _I didn’t like him before,_ Tony admitted, looking a little guilty. _He was sick in high school, and my dad was developing a new medicine and working with Steve. My dad gave him much attention--more attention that he gave me. I was jealous. It was worse when a year later he became really hot and I felt like he had everything I didn’t. He was better looking than me, and my dad liked him more. But when we started working at Shield, he was really nice to me. I feel bad I was so mean whenever I saw him in high school._

Clint rubbed his foot against Tony’s, smiling his thanks at the waiter when the young man dropped off their beers. _I’m happy you learned Steve is nice. I know it’s hard when your parents don’t love you enough._

 _My dad loved me,_ Tony corrected his boyfriend. _He didn’t know how to show it. Sorry, I was trying to explain that I like Steve now. He’s nice, and he’s a good teacher. He knows a lot about American history and he tries to be nice to everybody. He learned ASL in high school because he thought it wasn’t fair that Deaf people grew up here but most people couldn’t converse with them._

 _Don’t talk about a different man like that on our date,_ Clint told Tony teasingly, reaching over to take a sip of his beer. _This is good beer. I usually drink bad stuff because I’m too lazy to try new things._

*

Two hours later, as they left the restaurant and headed back towards Tony’s apartment, Clint started to feel nervous. It was a simple request--just sex, if Tony was ready and wanted to. He was willing to let his boyfriend choose everything to do with it, too: who was on top, what position, where… why was it so scary to ask such a short question? He followed Tony up to the older man’s apartment, smiling idly as the brunette kissed his cheek happily.

 _I made cannoli,_ Tony explained happily, pointing out the chocolate-dipped shells that were sitting on the counter. _There is vanilla custard filling in the refrigerator. We can eat them now or wait to digest…_

 _Will you have sex with me?_ Clint interrupted, and then flinched. That was not how he had meant to do that. He had meant to be smooth and seductive, not awkward and abrupt. _If you want! I would like to have sex with you but if you don’t want to that’s okay. If you want to you can decide who’s on top and what position you want because I like everything…_ He stopped, realizing that he was rambling. He watched Tony hopefully as the brunette brought his hands up to answer.

 _I want to have sex with you,_ Tony answered, smiling. _I’m really happy that you asked me. Come on,_ he added, grabbing Clint’s hand and pulling him toward his bedroom. Once in it, he shut the door and turned on a dim lamp, the soft glow leaving the room dark enough to feel intimate and romantic, but light enough that they could see each other signing. _Let’s get naked and then I will tell you who I think should top,_ the older man said, grinning as he looked pointedly at his boyfriend’s crotch.

 _You see my penis often,_ Clint pointed out, grinning as he paused his signing to unbutton and remove his shirt. _Can you remember if you want me to put it inside you?_

Tony had taken his own shirt off as Clint sign to him, and he got on the bed, propped up against the headboard, before replying. _I really want it in me,_ he told his boyfriend, letting his legs fall open so Clint could see that he was half-hard in his pants already, just from thinking about sex with the younger man. _If you want that too, come here and take it._

Clint shuddered with arousal at the sight of Tony asking for it, and he quickly stepped out of his own remaining so that he could get on the bed and attack his boyfriend’s belt, kissing and sucking at the skin of the older man’s stomach as he did so. It took longer than he wanted to get Tony’s belt off, but he finally flung it to the floor, quickly followed by the brunette’s socks and pants. The Iowan smiled cheekily up at Tony, who was staring down at him excitedly, before hooking his fingers in the black boxers hanging at his boyfriend’s hips and pulling them down. He gave Tony’s cock a little lick, just to taste and tease, and then threw the boxers onto the pile and the floor and brought his hands from Tony’s thighs to sign. _Do you have lube and condoms?_

Tony nodded immediately, turning over a little to reach into the drawer in his bedside table. He threw a mostly-full bottle of lube onto the bed, followed by a strip of condoms, seven in all.

Clint couldn’t help but giggle. He always laughed when he was nervous, and while he acted cool about this, the thought of doing this with Tony--and the possibility of fucking it up--was making his heart pound. _Do you expect seven times tonight? I’m young but that’s expecting much._

Shaking his head, Tony laughed, reaching out to stroke Clint’s cheek sweetly before pulling his hand away to sign. _No, you know I don’t expect anything. Do what you want, and I will like it. Stop worrying,_ he added, and then pulled his boyfriend up to kiss him deeply before the younger man could reply. He wrapped one arm around Clint’s waist and tangled his other hand in sandy hair as he kissed with abandon, rolling their hips together and moaning as his cock went from somewhat interested to hard and leaking when Clint started kissing back.

Clint grunted as their naked erections bumped together; they hadn’t done anything close to this before. They had stroked each other off and given each other blowjobs, but the only time their dicks had touched was one time when they were showering together after, too tired and sated to get hard again. Rocking against each other now, though, felt amazing, and Clint let himself get lost in the sensation for a minute. He came back into the moment when his foot, searching for purchase to get a better angle, bumped against the bottle of lube. Oh, yeah, he was supposed to be getting Tony ready for fucking. He nipped his boyfriend’s bottom lip playfully before sliding down the bed and positioning Tony’s legs so he would have an easy time fingering him. _Tap me or hit the bed hard if I need to stop,_ he reminded the older man before squirting some lube on his fingers and pressing one in slowly.

Tony arched up a little, pressing himself back into Clint’s touch. His boyfriend’s finger felt perfect, and he shuddered excitedly when the younger man inserted a second one. He found the curl and press of the two digits not enough, so he began to roll his hips, riding the fingers and gasping in pleasure. He waved to get Clint’s attention before signing, _more,_ desperate to speed up the preparation and get to the main event.

Clint kissed Tony’s hipbone and smiled as he pulled out his fingers and pressed three back in, stretching carefully. He wasn’t too worried; his cock wasn’t extremely thick, so he would be able to open Tony up more than enough like this. He played around with his fingers deep in his boyfriend’s ass for another minute and then pulled them out, his breathing speeding up in excitement as he discreetly wiped them on the sheets before tearing a condom from the strip and opening the foil. He ignored how his hands shook when he rolled it on, and he added some more lube before he looked up at Tony once more, taking in the way the older man was panting and staring, his cock dripping out precome against his stomach. _Are you ready?_

 _Please,_ Tony signed, nodding hurriedly and reaching out for Clint. He opened his legs as far as he comfortable could and tilted his hips up, gasping and then groaning in a mix of pleasure and pain and Clint began to sink in slowly, his arms bracing himself on either side of Tony’s head. The brunette gasped out praise before remembering Clint wouldn’t hear it; instead, he wrapped his arms around the younger man’s neck and dragged his down for a kiss. Pulling Clint’s torso had the wonderful side effect of making him slip in even deeper, and Tony moaned into his mouth.

Moving his lips from Tony’s mouth to his neck, Clint waited until he felt an impatient twitch of the hips under him before he began to move. He started with slow, shallow little thrusts until Tony pulled his hair and gave him a pointed look, one that reminded him that his boyfriend was neither a virgin nor made of glass. He pulled back so that he could feel the head of his cock catch on Tony’s rim, and then pushed back in, hard. He immediately glanced down at Tony to make sure that had been okay, and was excited to see the older man shuddering and nodding urgently, clearly trying to communicate just how much he loved what was happening.

Clint began a rough rhythm, fucking Tony hard but smooth, leaning down to suck at the older man’s neck. He loved that his boyfriend was so physically responsive, that he could feel Tony thrusting up under him both to get Clint deeper and to rub his erection on Clint’s stomach.  It felt good to feel Tony’s cock rubbing across his abs, knowing how desperate he seemed to be making the man. He pressed himself back up on one hand and reached between the to jack Tony off, glancing down and shuddering in arousal as he saw his hand around his boyfriend’s cock, the thick flesh in between his fingers getting him pleasantly sticky with precome.

Tony ran his hand through Clint’s hair, groaning and trying to tighten his body around the long cock inside him. He loved getting Clint off, because the blond looked absolutely beautiful when he came. He was getting close himself, and he bit his lip and jerked his chin up towards Clint in what had become their sign for being close and just needing a tiny bit more. When his boyfriend squeezed his cock and pushed in with the deepest thrust yet, Tony lost it and came hard between their bodies, mouth falling open as he moaned. He kept his hands in Clint’s hair and gave his boyfriend a tired but pleased smile as he relaxed to let the younger man finish inside him. It was uncomfortable, to have his prostate hammered after he had finished, but he didn’t mind.

Knowing that still getting fucked after coming wasn’t always fun, Clint tried to thrust a little shallower. He leaned down and kissed Tony, pulling his sticky, come-covered hand out from between their bodies and using it to prop himself up while his other hand moved to pet through soft, slightly sweaty brown hair. He grunted as he felt himself getting closer, and he leaned down to kiss Tony deeply and he thrust once, twice more before finally hitting his orgasm, his abs clenching as he felt himself jerk as he filled up the condom. He thrust through it before letting himself collapse onto his boyfriend’s chest, panting in sated exertion.

Tony pet at Clint’s back as the younger man’s breath returned to normal, and then gently used his index finger to tilt Clint’s face up to look at him. _That was the perfect way to have Valentine’s Day,_ he told his boyfriend with a huge smile. _You are amazing and really sexy. My sexy, perfect boyfriend._ He leaned down to kiss Clint’s forehead, not minding that his neck bent uncomfortably.

Clint smiled widely, eyelids starting to droop a little. He pushed himself up on his left hand so he could sign with his right. _You’re really hot too,_ he pointed out, and blushed a little before continuing. _Maybe you can be on top next time? I loved how you moved with me in you, but I want to try that cock in me. I bet you’re a good top, aren’t you?_

Tony shrugged, but his grin got even wider. _I don’t know,_ he signed teasingly. _Maybe I like when you top a lot and I won’t want to switch._ He shifted under his boyfriend, his come-covered stomach starting to itch. _Can you pull out? Then we can clean off and go eat our dessert._

Clint nodded before slowly tilting his hips out, one hand gently holding the condom on at the base--he had accidentally left a condom in someone once and never, ever wanted to do that again. Once his softening cock was out of Tony’s body, he pulled off the condom, tied it off, and threw it in the garbage can by the bed. _Stay in bed,_ he told Tony, and then padded out to the bathroom, only to run smack into Thor. _I thought you weren’t here!_ He wished, for the first time since he was in elementary school, that he could hear and speak because right now he couldn’t explain things to Thor and cover himself.

 _The water broke in Jane’s apartment building,_ Thor explained, studiously looking up at Clint’s face without a single glance down. _Sorry, I would have come found you but there were…_ he paused awkwardly. _There were noises,_ he finished, blushing a tiny bit. _There were really loud noises from the bedroom._

All Clint wanted now was to somehow disappear. _I am really sorry,_ he replied, blushing crimson. _May I go to the bathroom and get a washcloth? We want to eat dessert in the kitchen but if you and Jane are there we will not._

Thor stepped aside. _We will be in my bedroom,_ he promised. _I’m sorry for interrupting your night._ He walked off, leaving Clint alone to his mortification.

Clint quickly stepped into the bathroom and soaked a washcloth with warm water and wrung it out so that it wouldn’t drip. He washed off his own stomach efficiently and then walked back into the bedroom to wipe Tony off.

Tony could see that Clint’s ears were red as the younger man swiped the washcloth over his stomach. He tapped his boyfriend’s cheek to get his attention. _What’s wrong?_

 _Thor and Jane are back, because the water in Jane’s apartment broke,_ Clint explained one-handed, the other finishing washing Tony’s stomach and moving on to carefully wipe his slightly-puffy hole. _Thor saw me naked and told me that your bedroom was really noisy. I feel really embarrassed._

Tony couldn’t stop himself from laughing. _I feel embarrassed too, but it’s okay. Let’s put on our pajamas and go eat our cannoli, okay?_ He gave Clint a kiss and sat up, wrapping his arms around his boyfriend and pulling him toward the chest of drawers to find sweats or pajama pants. Clint perked up as he pulled on a pair of Tony’s MIT flannel pajama pants, the redirection clearly working. Tony kissed Clint’s stomach as he bent down to step into a pair of grey sweatpants, then took his hand and dragged him happily to the kitchen. _Sit,_ he told him, grinning and pointing at a chair. _I will make your cannoli._

Clint sat down as directed and watched as Tony pulled a container of custard out of the fridge and began to scoop it into the shells. It didn’t come out nearly as neat as in bakeries, but Clint thought it looked delicious. He told Tony as much when the younger man brought a plate with two cannoli on it over to the counter and sat down next to Clint. Tony just gave him a kiss and then picked one up and fed it to the younger man.

 _That was delicious,_ Clint told Tony, smiling with a sticky, custard-rimmed mouth. He picked up the other one and brought it up to Tony’s mouth. By the time they were done, they both had sticky hands and faces, and Tony grabbed a paper towel and used it to clean them off.

Ten minutes later, they were snuggled in bed with the lights out. Clint smiled as he rested his head on Tony’s chest, feeling like that day had been the best Valentine’s Day he had ever experienced.


	8. Morning After and More

The following morning, Clint woke up to Tony gently shaking him. _Your phone shook, and the screen shows that Fury texted you. I don’t want to read your text because that is rude, but I worry maybe it’s important,_ he signed, looking apologetic at waking up his boyfriend. He handed the younger man his phone and lay back down, one hand resting on his boyfriend’s firm stomach as he let him check his text messages.

Clint yawned and ran one hand through Tony’s hair as the other navigated the touch screen to get to his inbox, smiling as he thought about what they had donr the previous night. His smile faded, however, when he read Fury’s message. _A mom is mad you said her son is behind in math and she said rude things. You may get a rude email. Not your fault, don’t feel bad._ His least favorite part of being a teacher was that sometimes parents blamed him for their children doing badly. He knew that sometimes bad performance was the fault of the teacher but in his case he found that some of his students simply didn’t try. He sent a quick text back to Fury-- _Who mom?_ \--and then rolled onto his side to smile at Tony. _Did you sleep well?_

Tony gave Clint a quick kiss before nodding. _You made me tired last night, I slept perfectly,_ he replied teasingly. _You are very sexy,_ he added. After having some amazing sex the previous night, he wanted to remind Clint of his attractiveness and sexual prowess every moment. _Do you want to make breakfast? The omelet we learned to make last week was really good. We can make some for us and Thor and Jane._

Clint smiled and nodded before he sat up and looked for a pair of jeans. He had taken to leaving a clean pair in Tony’s apartment, since he often slept over once a week. He spotted the pants and got up, stretching a little before pulling on a pair of boxers and his jeans. He stole one of Tony’s plain t-shirts before rubbing a hand through his hair and turning back to his boyfriend, who was still lying in bed. _Come on, if we wait longer Thor and Jane will already eat,_ he told the brunette, tossing him a shirt and a pair of boxers from a stack a clean laundry.

Tony was up and dressed within a minute, and they walked hand-in-hand to the kitchen. The coffee machine was dripping caffeinated goodness into the pot as Thor and Jane sat at the table, each holding and reading a section of the newspaper. Tony let go of Clint’s hand to sign while he spoke. _We’re going to make omelets. Do either of you want one?_ He smiled and nodded when he got a reply, and then turned back to his boyfriend. _They said yes. We should make four omelets,_ he told him, putting a hand on the younger man’s back to steer him toward the fridge. _Get some eggs,_ he requested as he crouched down to open one of the drawers inside it to find shredded cheese and sliced ham. As he stood, he also grabbed some butter and then kissed Clint’s neck.

It only took a few minutes to get two omelets done, which Clint placed on the table in front of Thor and Jane with a wide smile. Thor looked up at him with a nod of thanks. _I’m sorry about last night, again,_ he told Clint with an apologetic grimace. _That was really awkward. I should have maybe texted Tony to tell him we would come home early._

Clint shrugged. _I don’t think that would have helped. We were really busy and I think we would not see your text,_ he responded, blushing lightly. _Please tell Jane I am sorry if we were really loud. I’ve been told that Deaf people are really loud all the time,_ he added. Natasha frequently complained that Clint was loud when he cooked, when he ate, when he moved around his apartment. _I will try to be quieter next time. I’m really sorry._ Leaving Thor to interpret for Jane, he walked back to the stove, where Tony was finishing up their own omelets. He kissed his boyfriend’s neck and gently pulled his chin so he could see Clint signing. _You’re really handsome,_ he told him happily. _Can we spend the day together? I need to do some work, but I can borrow your computer or we can go to my home. If we go to my apartment we can maybe have lunch with Natasha._

Tony nodded, glancing away for a moment to slide the fourth and final omelet onto a plate. _We can go to your apartment,_ he replied, sliding the plates over to the edge of the counter near the stools. _After we eat we can drive over. If we have lunch with Natasha please ask her to not hurt me. She’s really scary._

Clint rolled his eyes. _Natasha acts scary, but she will be nice because I care about you and she’s my friend,_ he promised. He waited until Tony joined him before starting to eat, smiling over at his boyfriend occasionally. He loved how peaceful and natural it felt to eat with his boyfriend.

*

Clint was at his computer, writing his biweekly newsletter for the parents of all his students while his kids were in art class, when he saw his phone light up, and felt it vibrating on the desk next to him. He smiled when he saw that it a text message from Tony. The older man had been away for a few days as a chaperone on a tenth-grade camping trip, and Clint had missed him greatly. He wanted to drag his boyfriend into his bed with him and do many naughty things with him. Since their Valentine’s Day date a few weeks prior, they had not had sex again. Clint had been sick with the flu, and then Tony had been grading many tests, and then this camping trip.

 _Hey sexy,_ the text had written in it. _Can I pick you up at five for a special surprise?_  When he read it, Clint smiled excitedly. A “special surprise” sounded promising. He wondered if he could sneak Tony into his apartment to sleep there, even though it was a Wednesday night and he was on duty. If he brought the physics teacher in after the students were in bed, and took him out before they got up… Clint was sure he could get away with it.

 _I miss you,_ he texted back, grinning still. _Surprise will sexy? We can meet parking lot._ He sent the message and turned back to his computer, tapping his foot in excitement as he continued writing his letter.

At ten minutes to five, Clint changed into a soft, light purple long-sleeved t-shirt and jeans and walked down to the parking lot to wait for Tony. He was excited to see the familiar bright red car already idling in a parking place right near the door. He hopped in the passenger seat immediately and gave Tony a sweet kiss on the lips. _How was the camping trip?_ he asked, once he had pulled back.

Tony shrugged in answer to the question, but he was smiling to see Clint once more. _The trip was fine. I missed you much. I have an important surprise. I was thinking we could do the surprise and then get take-out?_

Clint nodded enthusiastically. _I love when you have surprises for me,_ he told his boyfriend happily, buckling his seatbelt before continuing to sign with the brunette. _I was thinking you can stay in my apartment tonight, if you want. You can come in before the kids get back to the dorm or after they go to bed, and then leave before I help them get ready in the morning. As long as nobody else sees you, we will be fine. We can bring the take-out to my apartment and eat it there, so you will be in my room before the kids come back._

 _That will be perfect,_ Tony replied, and kissed Clint’s temple before putting the car in gear and driving out of the parking lot. He took a route that Clint recognized, but they younger man didn’t know where they were going. He decided instead to just watch Tony drive. The older teacher was smiling to himself, clearly proud of the surprise that was waiting for them. When the car stopped, Clint looked up and realized where they were: Tony’s lab on the university campus.

 _Why are we here?_ Clint got out of the car and followed Tony into the building and up the elevator.

 _You will see,_ Tony explained with a serene smile, stopping his signing to wrap one around Clint’s narrow hips. He kissed gently at the blonde’s jaw as they rode up the elevator. He didn’t do anything more, as he wasn’t trying to start anything here in the lab. Clint, however, squirmed gladly some in his grasp; it had been weeks since they had sexual contact and even this was getting him a small bit excited. He was almost relieved when they reached the fourth floor and they pulled apart some, which let Clint away from the sweet torment of his boyfriend’s embrace.

In a minute, they were in Tony’s little lab cubicle, and Tony was grinning widely as he patted Dummy. _Talk to him,_ he told Clint excitedly. _Bruce helped me work on the programming, and I think he will understand you now. Please try, baby. Remember he can make toast or hand you something._

Clint chewed at his lip and took a few deep breaths before he opened his mouth. He closed it after a second, reached for Tony’s hand, and, once he was holding the older man’s hand tightly, opened his mouth again. “Dummy, I want you make toast. Give me please.” He continued to bite at his lip as he waited anxiously, and he nearly cried happily when the little arm moved and grabbed a piece of bread, putting it in a toaster. He pulled his hand from Tony’s to signed excitedly. _Look! It makes toast to give me._ He pressed a kiss against the older man’s lips. _This is the perfect surprise. I love you._ It was the first time he had told his boyfriend that, and he blushed when he did.

Tony just grinned back and replied with a brief sign of _I love you_ as well. He pulled Clint into his arms so that the younger man’s back was pressed up against his chest and held him close, licking at the blonde’s neck and rocking their hips. Okay, sue him; he thought engineering and a happy boyfriend were a sexy combination. Nobody was in the lab; they could do this--whatever “this” would end up turning into.

Squirming happily, Clint tilted his head to the side to let Tony kiss more of his neck, and then dragged one of the older man’s hands down from around his waist to place it over the slowly appearing bulge at the front of his pants. He grunted and ground his ass back against Tony when the other man squeezed him perfectly. Clint had never done more than make out in a public or semi-public place, and this felt so wonderfully naughty.

Mouth against Clint’s neck, Tony groaned against the younger man’s skin as his boyfriend’s perfect ass pushed against his trapped erection. God, this was so hot, doing this where they could get caught. It was like a porn fantasy, one that Tony would freely admit he had entertained while masturbating. He was so happy Clint was doing this with him, and even leading some of it by pressing Tony’s hand against his crotch. He slowly, giving Clint plenty of time to stop him if it was too much, slid his hand up the younger man’s bulge so he could pop the button on his jeans and pull the zipper down.

Clint leaned back on Tony and turned his head so he could kiss and suck at the older man’s neck. Oh, God, they could be caught if anyone else came to look at their workstations. He reached behind them to grab Tony’s ass and shove his hips forward as Clint himself ground back. He grunted as the brunette pulled out his cock, which was close to fully hard, and began to jerk him off quickly. Wincing, the blond pulled Tony’s hand from his cock to his mouth and licked it before replacing it. He gasped as his boyfriend started up again, the small amount of saliva making the strokes feel infinitely better.

Tony squeezed Clint’s erection a little tighter as he jerked the younger man with quick strokes. His own cock was grinding against Clint’s ass through their clothes, and he moaned as he turned his head to the side the nudge Clint into a kiss. Gripping Clint’s hip hard with his free hand, he used the other one to thumb the head of the younger man’s cock, spreading the wetness all over it. He grinned and pulled away from their kiss to bite Clint’s neck.

Gasping once more, Clint started to thrust into Tony’s hands, managing three jerks of his hips before coming all over his boyfriend’s hand with a moan that he could feel was too loud for such a public place. He turned in Tony’s arms as soon as the older man had stroked him through orgasm and let go of him. He just smiled and kissed Tony’s neck all over as his boyfriend thrust against him, his groans making his throat vibrate against Clint’s mouth.

Tony came in his pants with his fingers squeezing Clint’s firm ass tightly. After a few seconds of panting, he let go of his boyfriend and moved his hands up to sign as Clint tucked himself in and zipped up. _That was hot,_ he told the younger man, a huge grin on his flushed cheeks. _You are really amazing._ He looked past Clint and began to laugh. _I think Dummy has been trying to give you toast the whole time,_ he signed in explanation of his laughter. When Clint turned around, he saw the little robot hand pushing toast at him.

He took the toast and patted Dummy with his free hand. “Thank you,” he vocalized, taking a bite of the bread and handing it to Tony. _It’s good,_ he signed cheerfully. _You make good robots.  
_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am sorry it took me a long time to update but I can't think of ideas! If you have any ideas for something they should do or a plot point, please comment and let me know!


	9. Things Don't Go Well

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warning--use of the R-word in recounts of things people had said about a character

_I’m sorry that your son isn’t doing well in math class,_ Clint told a student’s mother as patiently as he could, using the video relay interpreter to converse with the hearing woman. _I’ve spent extra time with him and helped him find an older student to tutor him outside of class, but I think he doesn’t try hard in class. He doesn’t pay attention in class. Maybe you should ask a doctor to test him for ADD,_ he added in suggestion. He thought that the student more likely didn’t care about schoolwork than had ADD, but suggesting testing would maybe make the mother feel better.

 _If he’s doing badly in math, you aren’t teaching him right,_ the mother argued through the interpreter. _My son isn’t stupid, Mr. Barton._

 _I know he isn’t,_ Clint replied calmly. _Kevin is really good at other classes. He is struggling in math, despite tutoring and other help. I suggest you talk with him about it and maybe try ADD testing._

_How old are you?_

The question caught Clint off-guard, and instead of deflecting and pointing out that his age didn’t matter, he answered honestly. _Twenty-six_ , he signed with a shrug, rounding his age up by a month or so.

_How long have you taught at Shield? Did you teach somewhere before?_

Clint sighed but decided it would be best to just answer her questions. _This is my second year at Shield, and I only taught at this school. I started here when I finished college._

There was a pause, and then the woman continued the conversation. _You only finished college two years ago? You finished college when you were twenty-four? Are you stupid?_

Clint’s eyes opened a little wider in shock. _I am qualified for my job,_ he explained shortly, chewing his lip as he tried not to let himself get upset by that insult he had heard for so many year: stupid. Stupid Clint Barton: that had been his identity for so many long years before Shield. Even his first year at Gallaudet, he’d seen people calling him that when they thought he wasn’t looking.

 _You’re stupid if you couldn’t do college like other people,_ Kevin’s mom told him. The interpreter looked like she felt bad, though she couldn’t do anything about it and none of it was her fault. _How can you teach my son if you’re stupid?_

 _I’m sorry, but I can’t continue this conversation if you are going to be so rude,_ Clint responded, only signing with one hand so he could use the other to pull his phone from his pocket to text Fury as soon as the video call ended. _Please call me again if you would like to have a polite conversation, or you may talk to Principal Fury if you don’t want to talk to me again._

He ended the call and immediately sent a text. _Kevin James mom tell me stupid. I stop call polite. Sorry if I did wrong._ He kept chewing at his lip and glanced at his watch. It was 4:37. The high school teachers had finished their afternoon office hours, so Tony would be available. Clint only took a second to decide to text his boyfriend: _Please come my classroom?_

Tony didn’t respond, making Clint worry that maybe the older man was busy or maybe even mad at him. His fears were stopped, though, when Tony walked through the door a couple minutes later. He quickly went over to Clint’s desk, seeing that his boyfriend was upset. He knelt down by the desk chair, tapping the younger man’s knee. _What’s wrong?_

 _A mom told me I’m stupid,_ Clint explained miserably. _I know I should grow up and not get so upset but when I was a kid everyone thought I was stupid and even when I went to college, everyone thought I was dumb because I write really badly in English and my ASL was bad because I used PSE as a kid._ He shrugged at Tony. _I’m sorry, this isn’t fun for you._

Tony shook his head. _It’s okay. Everything doesn’t have to be fun in a relationship. You’re upset, and that’s okay. The mom was wrong to tell you you’re stupid. You’re smart, and you’re a really good teacher. You repeated two years of school, but you were in a bad situation. You didn’t have parents to help like other kids, and nobody could sign with you at the orphanage. You forgot more in the summer than the other kids did._

Clint scrubbed at his face with his hands, trying to hide the tears in his eyes from Tony. He was tired and achy and, now, his feelings had been hurt. He wanted to act like an adult, the way he had been told to as a child, but he was unhappy and just wanted Tony to make him feel better. _I’m tired of being always the stupid person,_ he confessed, giving up on attempting to make his boyfriend not know he was crying a little. _Everywhere, I’m always dumb._ He sighed and gave Tony a pleading look. _Can you come with me to my apartment?_

Tony nodded and kissed Clint’s temple. _We can go there and I’ll make you a good dinner._ He stood up slowly and offered the younger man his hand. They dropped each other’s hands as they exited the room; neither of the men wanted people to find out about their relationship. They walked across campus relatively quickly, just wanting to get back to Clint’s apartment so they could cuddle up.

Once they were inside, Tony sat Clint down at the kitchen table and started rooting through the fridge and cabinets. He found some beef and noodles, and turned to Clint. _I’ll make you beef stroganoff,_ he told his boyfriend. _While I do, can you please tell me about how people made you feel like you’re stupid? I want to be able to understand and try to make it better._ He set a pot of water on the stove to start boiling and turned to Clint as he started chopping the beef. He didn’t pressure his boyfriend to start telling him things, just patiently waited for him to be ready to explain.

 _I_ was _dumb as a kid,_ Clint began with a matter-of-fact expression on his face. _I’m still dumber than many people I work with. And you know my talking is pretty bad even now, but when I was a kid, I think it was worse. I did a lot of speech therapy in college. It wasn’t just kids who told me I was dumb, but I saw that adults would write on my forms things like “maybe mentally retarded” and they always treated me like I was developmentally delayed. Barney told me in writing many times that I was mentally retarded._ He shrugged tiredly. _I want to be smart, like you or Bruce, but I can’t change me, you know?_

Tony put the knife down, finished cutting up their beef. _You are smart,_ he told his boyfriend firmly. _You think you’re dumb because people told you that, they weren’t fair. You went to college even though most people you grew up with didn’t and people told you that you couldn’t. You have to be smart and brave to do that._ He got out more ingredients to keep working on their dinner. _Fury hired you, and he’s strict and only takes good teachers. That means you’re smart and a good teacher. You’re my boyfriend, and I date smart people._

Clint gave Tony a wan smile. _Thanks. I love you, and I’m sorry that I’m freaking out. I’m acting stupid._ He shrugged, blinking a couple times to clear the wetness from his eyes.

 _You aren’t stupid,_ Tony reminded him. _Do you want to shower? I can finish dinner while you get clean._ He walked to the table to give Clint a soft kiss, keeping his dirty hands away from his boyfriend before smiling at him, watching the younger man’s cute ass fill out his jeans as he walked to the bathroom to take a shower.

In the bathroom, Clint turned on the shower and began to strip off his clothes, thinking about what Tony had told him. He really hoped that Tony had meant everything in that conversation, that he honestly thought Clint was smart. He stepped under the spray and began to soap himself up, still thinking. He had always wanted to be smart, like all the people from his science textbooks or the posters in the classrooms, but everything had always been so _hard_ for him. He had to go to kindergarten twice; because he was Deaf, people in the orphanage hadn’t been able to communicate with him in the two years he was there before starting school, and he was developmentally and communicatively behind everyone else. Later, in high school, he had to repeat the tenth grade because he just didn’t understand anything. He had failed many English essays, not for content but for bad written grammar and a small vocabulary. Everything past Algebra I mystified him, and US history and intro chemistry had moved too fast for him. It was hard for him _not_ to feel stupid when he thought about all of that. He had been a legal adult when he finished his sophomore year of high school, and that wasn’t… normal.

Once he was cleaned up, he got out of the shower and dried off as he walked to his bedroom. He put on pajama pants and an old t-shirt. He wanted to be comfortable, after a hard day, and didn’t care if he looked sloppy. He and Tony were close enough that it didn’t matter now. When he left the bedroom, he could smell the beef stroganoff cooking and he grinned. _It smells perfect,_ he told Tony when the older man looked up from the pots on the stove. _I’m really lucky I have you as my boyfriend,_ he added, giving Tony a peck on the lips when he got close enough.

Tony grinned back. _I’m luckier,_ he replied, kissing Clint’s jaw. _What time do you need to start dorm duty?_ he asked. It was a Wednesday, so Clint would have to be available for if the students in his section of the dorm needed help, and would have to supervise when everyone got ready for bed. Tony, though, wanted some time to show his beautiful, insecure boyfriend how much he was loved.

 _Seven,_ Clint answered, glancing at his watch. _We’ll probably eat at 5:30, so we’ll have time to cuddle, if you want._ He leaned over the cooking beef and inhaled deeply through his nose, grinning widely. _I’m really excited to eat this. You’re an amazing cook._

 _I’m learning with a good partner,_ Tony replied, reaching past Clint to give the pot a little stir. _I love you,_ he added cheerfully, thinking that this would be a good time to remind his boyfriend of that fact.

Clint smiled widely. _I love you too,_ he told Tony, giving him a kiss on the nose. _You always know what to tell me so I feel better. You’re amazing. Do you want to stay here tonight, or--_ He was interrupted when the lights flashed, indicating that someone had pressed his doorbell. He looked over at his door in surprise. The only people who ever visited him were Tony and Natasha. Tony, obviously, was already with him, and Natasha never pressed the doorbell; she always simply walked in. The students who lived in his dorm were in an afterschool program until dinner, so Clint honestly couldn’t think of who was outside his door.

He walked over and opened the door, nearly keeling over in shock when he saw who it was. His older brother, Barney, was standing there, smirking at him.

Clint held up one finger, telling his brother to wait. He told Tony he was stepping out for a moment, and then shut the door behind him to try to communicate with his asshole brother who had never learned to sign. Sighing, Clint pointed at Barney, raising his eyebrows to show significance, and then pointed toward the stairs. When Barney began to talk to him, he rolled his eyes and made himself use his voice. “Leave,” he said, his face making it clear that he meant it.

Barney’s face darkened and he shook his head. When he spoke, even Clint could tell that he was saying “no,” his lips moving a little exaggeratedly. Clint held his ground; the slow and overemphasized movements of his brother’s lips reminding him of how the older man used to explain in writing that he spoke like that because of how dumb Clint was. As much as he wanted to stand up to his brother, Clint could feel himself backing away, scooting against the wall as Barney crowded over him in a clear--but apparently successful--attempt to intimidate him.

“Leave,” Clint repeated, trying to be firm even as he kept backing up. He stumbled a bit as the wall disappeared from behind him, and he found himself taking a couple backwards steps through the doorway. Barney was still moving toward him, obviously yelling. Clint ground his teeth; that was something he had always hated, that Barney would yell even though Clint still couldn’t hear him. He stopped backing away from his brother, noticing that he was on a stairwell, and getting close to the edge of the landing. “Stop!” he yelled, feeling like a little kid again, easily forced to do what everyone else wanted him to.

Barney shook his head, his mouth moving in words Clint couldn’t understand. The younger of the brothers was now wishing that he had decided to have this conversation in his apartment, where Tony would be able to interpret and help him stand up from himself. Barney reached out his callused hands and, with a smirk that reminded Clint unpleasantly of their childhoods, gave Clint a little shove, sending him tumbling down the stairs.

Clint gasped out in pain as he hit the next landing, able to feel already that he had at least sprained something. He nearly sobbed in relief when Natasha, wonderfully tough Natasha, appeared on the landing, surveying the scene with a raised eyebrow before opening her mouth and saying something--and Clint was dying to know what--that made Barney blanche and high tail it out of there. He looked at her gratefully, trying to shift his body so he could use his hands to sign. He grunted as the movement made his leg throb. _I’ve never seen him scared,_ he admitted, giving Natasha a smile that was really more of a grimace. _What did you say to him?_

 _I threatened to stab him and call his parole officer. I wasn’t sure if he had one, but he got scared so I think he does,_ she replied, and then crouched to look at her friend’s leg. _I think you should go to a doctor. You maybe broke your leg. Did you trip or something?_

Grimacing in pain, he shook his head. _Barney pushed me,_ he explained. _Tony is in my apartment, cooking. Please bring him here. He can take me to the ER. I’ll need someone to take care of my students tonight, because I will maybe be in the ER for many hours._

Natasha nodded, taking everything in stride like she always did. _I’ll get Tony and then call Fury for you,_ she promised. _You can leave for the ER when he comes here, I’ll do everything else._ She kissed his temple and gave him a comforting pat on the shoulder before standing smoothly and walking up the stairs.

A minute later, Tony was half-carrying Clint down the rest of the stairs and to the car in the parking lot, one arm supporting his boyfriend, who was nearly in tears, the other rubbing the younger man’s hip comfortingly. He wished there were a way to communicate with Clint like this, but this was all he could do. Once he got the blond in the car, he told him that everything would be okay and he was sorry he didn’t help him, but he could tell that Clint wasn’t really paying attention through his pain. He kissed the younger man before getting in the driver’s seat and heading out to the university hospital.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Poor Clint. Good thing he has a boyfriend who will spoil him while he heals :)


	10. ER Visit and Recovery

Clint leaned against Tony’s shoulder as they sat in the waiting room at the hospital’s emergency unit. They had filled out all the forms--Tony filling out what he could for Clint to let the injured man try to get comfortable--and had been sitting for an hour as they waited for a doctor and an interpreter to become available. Tony was barely keeping it together, because he wanted to be strong and supportive for Clint but internally he was still processing that his boyfriend’s horrible brother had just shoved said boyfriend down the stairs.

When they finally got sent back for basic vitals, Tony put an arm around Clint and helped him hop into the wheelchair provided. _Do you want me to come with you or should I wait here?_ he asked once his boyfriend was settled.

Clint thought for a moment. _Please come,_ he signed. _I’m tired and I hurt so I want you with me now. Please don’t make jokes about me later if I cry from pain,_ he added. Logically, he knew Tony would never do that to him; despite his teasing personality, the brunette knew when to stop. Being called stupid and seeing Barney, however, had reminded him of his childhood, and it was hard to stop himself from thinking in that mindset.

 _I will never joke like that,_ Tony promised solemnly. He followed as the nurse pushed Clint across the waiting room and down a hall to a little room, the interpreter silently walking with him. He gave the woman a tight smile (the best he could do at the moment) and received a sympathetic one in response. When they got to the exam room, Tony simply hovered worriedly as the doctor came in and asked Clint questions about his injury through the interpreter. He felt horrible about all of it, like if he had been out there a minute earlier he could have stopped Barney from shoving Clint down the stairs.

Caught up in his own thoughts, Tony didn’t realize that the conversation had ended until the interpreter tapped his shoulder and pointed to Clint, who had his hands up to sign. _We’re going to do the x-ray. The doctor told me you need to wait here,_ the blond explained, face still pinched in pain.

Tony nodded to show his understanding. _You’re doing great,_ he encouraged his boyfriend. _Soon you’ll have some pain meds and probably crutches and this will get better. I love you._

Clint smiled as well as he could at Tony before letting the nurse get him back into the wheelchair and heading to the x-ray room. He lay back and tried to think positively as they took the x-rays. He would be okay. He was an adult and he could deal with being hurt. Tony would help him if he needed it. It wasn’t like at the orphanage, where if you got hurt, you were damn lucky if anyone noticed, much less cared. By the time they were rolling him back to the exam room, he had calmed himself down. He wasn’t freaking out, as long as he didn’t look down at the swollen mess that was his left leg.

In the exam room, he made Tony sit with him on the paper-covered examination table, so he could lean on him and hold his hand as he flicked his eyes back and forth between the interpreter and the x-ray pictures the doctor was pointing at on the computer screen. He nodded when necessary to show understanding, but all he wanted at that point was pain medication and sleep.

Forty minutes later, Clint found himself hobbling out of the emergency room on a pair of crutches, a purple cast going up to the middle of his left thigh. He was not happy about this development. His stupid brother came back into his life for less than ten minutes and fucked it all up. He couldn’t walk and sign at the same time now, and he was a little worried about how this would affect his job. He had a doctor’s note guaranteeing him a week off, but after that… shit, he would definitely need a teacher assistant, just for the physical things at least. Could Fury find one within a week, or would he be replaced by a substitute until he healed? His doctor said he would be in the cast for months! He couldn’t afford to lose his job for months. He didn’t even have an apartment outside of the one in the dorm, since he worked at the extended school year during the summer as well.

He dozed as Tony drove back toward Shield, the pain medication knocking him out pretty well. Tony took the opportunity to call Natasha, getting her voicemail and leaving a message explaining Clint’s condition, covering the injury, the projected recovery time, and the medications the younger man was on before the allotted time for his message ran out. After that, he took a deep breath and called Fury.

The principal answered on the second ring. “Mr. Stark?” he said without preamble.

“Yes, um, hi, sir,” Tony began awkwardly. “Look, I know Ms. Romanoff talked to you about Clint going to the ER and I’m the one who took him. He’s got multiple fractures around the knee, and he’s going to be in a cast for a few months. He’s got a note that gives him a week off from work, but after that…”

Fury cut in easily, “I’ll find a temporary teacher assistant to help him keep the kids in line, and he can sit down to teach. Tell him he’ll keep his job, I’m sure he’s terrified he’ll get fired or temporarily suspended or something. Is he awake now, or out?”

“Out. They gave him some pretty strong pain killers,” Tony responded. “I’m going to get him up to his apartment and, uh, find someone in the dorm to check on him later and in the morning.”

“Stark, I’m not an idiot. Stay over,” the principal said firmly. “I know he’ll be happy with you there, and I’m going to turn a blind eye as to why. Stop by my office tomorrow to let me know how he’s doing, okay? Now, I need to go call for substitute teachers, so I’ll see you tomorrow. Goodbye.”

“Yes, sir. Goodbye,” Tony said, ending the call and sliding his phone back into his pocket. They were almost back at Shield, and for that he was grateful. He was a little shocked that the principal seemed to know about his and Clint’s relationship, and even more amazed that the older man didn’t seem to care. He supposed it made sense; Fury clearly cared about Clint, and was probably willing to ignore a relationship between two teachers if it made Clint happy. Anyway, Tony taught high school, and Clint taught elementary--there was enough separation there to keep it safe.

Once he had parked in the lot behind Clint’s dorm, Tony turned off the car and gently shook his boyfriend’s shoulder. _We’re at your dorm,_ he signed when the younger man opened his eyes tiredly. _I’ll help you go up and stay overnight, if that’s okay._

Clint just nodded and waited patiently as Tony got out of the car and came around to the passenger side to help him slide carefully out the door and onto his crutches. It was a slow walk to the door of the building, with Clint still getting used to the crutch and swing motion, but soon they were waiting by the elevator. The younger man balanced with his crutches in his armpits tapped Tony so the brunette would look at him. _I need to sleep more,_ he explained tiredly, his hands barely making it into the right shape and not quite moving as smoothly as they usually did. _Will you sleep in my bed tonight?_

Tony smiled and nodded. _I will do whatever you need. Do you need food or something to drink before bed? I can find juice for you, or I can make you some hot chocolate. I want you to feel better. I feel bad. If I went to the stairs when I started to worry, maybe your brother wouldn’t have hurt you._

After stumbling into the elevator, Clint shook his head emphatically. _You shouldn’t think that. Barney hurting me was not your fault. He’s a bad person._ He tried to give his boyfriend a reassuring smile, but he mostly just pressed one corner of his mouth up a tiny bit. _I think I want tea, but I know I will sleep again while you make it. Maybe have some juice near the bed for when I wake up,_ he suggested, looking up as the elevator doors opened in front of him.

He let Tony help him down the hall to his door, and within minutes Clint was sitting on his bed as his boyfriend helped him pull off his clothes and replace them with pajamas. Clint’s eyes were drooping so much by the time his flannel pants were on that Tony decided to forgo a shirt and just tucked the blond in and gave him a soft kiss.

Once the younger man was asleep, he went to the kitchen. He had abandoned the beef stroganoff in the emergency, and it was cold on the stove. He carefully put the meat and sauce into plastic containers, which he put in the fridge, and then threw out the noodles, which were half-cooked and unsalvageable. He washed all of the dishes, and then, needing something to do to keep his wired mind off of upsetting thoughts, he began to make some chicken soup, impressed that Clint had all the necessary ingredients. He threw together a smoothie as the soup simmered, a little disappointed in himself when it turned out green--he doubted his boyfriend would be a fan of it.

When he could no longer think of chores to do in the kitchen--with chicken soup and beef stroganoff ready to be reheated, and a smoothie chilling--he resigned himself to facing a time without anything to distract him from his thoughts. After pouring a glass of juice for when his boyfriend woke up, he went to the bedroom and crawled in bed with Clint, spooning with the younger man as well as he could with a large cast taking up the middle of the bed. Though Clint seemed to sleep peacefully and was in no need of comfort, Tony wrapped his arms around him and rubbed gently over all the exposed skin he could reach. He loved the man he was holding so much that he sometimes felt he couldn’t understand it, and right now the love almost hurt as his brain jumped into overdrive, creating all sorts of anxious visions of worse things that could have happened when Barney pushed Clint.

When Clint woke up four hours later, his medicine having worn off, Tony hadn’t slept a wink. _Do you need more medicine?_ Even as he waited for a reply, the brunette grabbed the orange prescription bottle from the bedside table and opened it to get out a pill.

Nodding exhaustedly, pain etched into his face, Clint took the pill and swallowed it down with a gulp of juice. _This medicine makes me tired._

 _It’s an opiate,_ Tony explained, taking comfort in the science of medicine and drugs. _They make you hurt less but also make you tired. They can make you constipated too, so eat a lot of vegetables,_ he added with a matter-of-fact nod. _They are addictive, so you only get thirty. Only take them if you need to. After you finish them or hurt less, there is a prescription-size Motrin the doctor gave you._ He kissed Clint’s forehead. _I talked to Fury on the phone. He told me that he knows you will worry about losing your job, but that’s silly. He’ll get a substitute for one week, and then you will have a teacher assistant for the rest of the year._

 _Good,_ Clint signed, moving as little as possible due to his tiredness. _I really need this job._

 _I know,_ Tony replied, running his fingers through messy blond hair before continuing. _I think he knows we are dating, but he said he will ignore it. I think he just wants you to be happy. He really cares about you._

In all honestly, Clint was too tired and in too much pain to care at that point. Hell, Tony could have told him that all the parents of all the students had found out, and he would barely have shrugged. _I love you. Can I sleep again?_

Tony smiled at the younger man. _Yes. I love you too. If I leave before you wake up, I’ll put your medicine and some water and a snack by your table. I will try to check on you between my classes, okay?_

Clint nodded tiredly before shutting his eyes and snuggling close to Tony and falling asleep again quickly as the drugs kicked in. He slept soundly, despite the pain in his leg, and when he awoke, there was light pouring in through the window and Tony was gone. There was, as promised, a little breakfast laid out on the bedside table. Through bleary eyes, Clint saw a glass of juice--cranberry, it looked like--and a plate of sliced apple with peanut butter. Next to this plate was the little orange bottle of pills, and under that a note. Pushing himself up on his hands, Clint got settled with his back against the headboard before reaching out and taking the note.

 _Good morning, you sexy beast,_ the note read, written in Tony’s messy scrawl. _I hope your leg is feeling better now. Please, drink the juice and eat the apple with peanut butter. If you need to, and you probably will, take one of the pills and keep napping. I’ll come back between classes to see you, and I’ll try to round up some DVDs so you can watch something. You’ll probably only be semi-awake, but you may need something to entertain you. Love you!_

Clint smiled at the little letter, on which Tony had sketched a tiny picture of them holding hands. He put it back on the table before diligently taking one pill and chasing it with a sip of juice. Though he wasn’t very hungry, he ate a couple apple slices, which he dipped in peanut butter--he knew that the painkillers would go down better if he had something in his stomach. He leaned over the edge of his bed and pulled his laptop up from where it was charging on the floor, and opened it. He clicked around until he found _Rio Bravo_ on his hard drive. As it started to play, he put it on the bed and turned his head to watch the movie, which he had nearly memorized.

He was halfway through the film when he saw the shadows in his room change--someone had opened his bedroom door. After he rolled over exhaustedly, he saw Tony, holding a bag in one hand and giving him a smile. The blond man smiled back as well as he could. _How are your classes again?_ Clint asked, his hands moving slowly through the little haze the drugs made.

 _Fine. I missed you. I borrowed these DVDs from Bruce,_ Tony replied, putting the bag down on the bed a foot from Clint. _He has the first and second season of_ Game of Thrones _if you want some fantasy. I know you like the old weaponry._

Clint nodded, then rifled slowly through the contents of the bag, pulling out all of the DVDs and spreading them around the bed. By the time he looked back at Tony, he had created quite a little mess on the side the brunette tended to sleep on. _Please tell Bruce thank you,_ he told his boyfriend. _Do you have time to stay with me?_

 _I have twenty minutes,_ Tony answered, and pet Clint’s hair lovingly before continuing, _but I want to make you lunch. Fury wants me to tell him how you’re doing, and the physics club meets today, so I can’t come here during lunch._ He kissed the younger man’s forehead. _I’ll use the microwave. Do you want beef stroganoff or chicken soup?_

 _Soup,_ Clint signed simply, dropping his hands back on the bed and letting his eyes fall shut. Tony only waited in the room for a moment before heading to the kitchen. He pulled out the container of soup that he had made the previous night and heated a bowl of it up in Clint’s microwave. When it was warm, he took it to his boyfriend, who was already asleep again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Tony is a good boyfriend


End file.
